Our People Make the Difference” is a statement that’s hurting your business

TL;dr

Saying you have great people doesn’t build trust because everyone says it. Stories that show how your people show up are what make it believable and memorable.

Anytime I ask a small business owner what sets them apart, there’s a very predictable answer that comes flying back at me.

“Our people make the difference.”

“We have the best people.”

“It’s all about our people.”

And listen, that might be 100% true. But the problem is that your competitors are saying the Exact. Same. Thing. Which means customers don’t believe it, so they now see you as less than truthful. Yikes!

It’s the business version of saying you have the best pizza in town. Everyone says that. No one takes it at face value. We’ve been trained to be skeptical.

When you state something like that as a fact, it lands as as hyperbole. And exaggerated claims are cheap these days. They don’t build trust, and they definitely don’t stick.

What does stick is proof. And proof shows up through stories.

If your people really are your differentiator, stop claiming it and start demonstrating it. Tell the story that makes someone think, okay…that’s different.

Focus on individual humans, not generic praise. Share a moment when someone on your team went above and beyond without being asked. Talk about the time an employee solved a problem in a way that surprised even you. Highlight the clever workaround, the extra step, the quiet win that never shows up in a bullet point.

Those stories do the heavy lifting your marketing claims can’t. They’re believable because they’re specific. They’re memorable because they’re human. And they separate you from the The Blandscape where everyone insists they’re amazing and nobody stands out.

Try this: pick one person on your team this week and tell a real story about something they did that reflects who you are as a business. No polish. No hype. Just proof. That’s how “our people make the difference” stops being noise and starts becoming a reason to choose you.