The Anti-Commodity Story You Need to Hear
Jul 05, 2025 7:01 am
“The future belongs to those who design what cannot be copied.”
Hey ,
A few years ago...
I had a moment I’ll never forget.
I was on a call with a client...
A smart...
Driven business coach who’d been in the game for years.
She was good.
Clients got results.
She knew her craft.
But she was exhausted.
“Sensei, I don’t know what happened,” she told me.
“It feels like everyone is offering what I offer. They’re charging half as much. Clients don’t see the difference anymore.”
She paused.
“I used to feel proud of my work. Now people are pricing me anyhow.”
I remember the silence on that call.
Because it was real.
I’ve heard this same story in different words from countless experts:
Coaches who can’t justify their rates.
Consultants whose proposals get shopped around.
Creatives who see clients ghost after asking “what’s your rate?”
Course creators seeing sales stall as competitors undercut them.
It’s not always dramatic.
It’s often a slow erosion.
A creeping feeling that your work is... replaceable.
#sipscoffee
Now add AI to that equation.
Suddenly everyone can:
- Write decent copy.
- Design pretty assets.
- Build entire funnels.
- Deliver automated coaching.
Competence is no longer scarce.
It’s cheap.
It’s instant.
If you're not designed to be different, AI will flatten you.
That’s not a threat.
That’s a promise.
When I heard my client’s voice crack with frustration...
I told her the truth:
“Your problem isn’t your skill. It’s that you’re too easy to compare.”
She didn’t need better marketing.
She needed to become uncomparable.
That’s why I developed what I call: The Anti-Commodity Framework.
It’s not just another marketing tactic.
It’s a design system.
A philosophy.
A promise you make to yourself:
“I will not be replaceable.”
I want to tell you exactly how it works.
But first...
Let’s be honest about what we’re up against.
The Real Enemy: Commoditization #ghenghen
Commodities are easy to find...
Easy to swap...
And bought on price alone.
Rice. Oil. Sugar.
If your work can be described in generic terms...
“marketing consulting”
“life coaching”
“web design”
You’re in danger.
AI supercharges this threat.
Your competitors can now produce:
✅ Decent-looking websites.
✅ Plausible-sounding copy.
✅ Automated coaching flows.
Even you can.
And so can your clients.
If you don’t give them a reason to choose you over everyone else...
They’ll choose the cheapest.
Or the AI.
Or neither.
This is the quiet killer of expert businesses.
Like I've been sharing since I got back...
“AI is not your enemy. Commoditization is.”
AI is just the accelerant.
The Anti-Commodity Framework: The Story
I’ll tell you a second story.
I once worked with a leadership coach who was struggling to stand out.
She was saying the same things every other leadership coach was saying.
Clients would say:
“We’re also talking to 3 other coaches.”
“We want to compare rates.”
Sound familiar?
We worked together to implement the Anti-Commodity Framework.
We started by codifying her method.
She’d always coached intuitively.
But we mapped it.
We named the steps.
We built diagnostics.
She went from selling “coaching” to selling The Resilient Leadership System™.
Now she could say:
“This isn’t generic leadership coaching.”
“This is a proprietary, 5 step transformation.”
“Here’s the map. Here’s the promise. Here’s why it’s uncopyable.”
We redesigned her the experience she creates:
- Customized onboarding.
- Ritualized accountability.
- Built-in reflection prompts.
- Private client spaces.
Clients didn’t just buy calls.
They bought initiation.
We worked on her story.
Why she does this work.
The moment she almost quit leadership herself.
The enemy she fights: disposable, performative leadership.
She stopped selling features.
She sold a legend...a future
I helped her pursue Selective Fame.
She didn’t try to please everyone.
She became the coach for mission driven organizations.
She built relevance over reach.
And yes...
We fixed her pricing.
She stopped discounting.
She started filtering for the right clients.
She signaled premium value.
The Result?
She stopped being “one of many.”
She became the only rational choice for her best clients.
She raised her rates without fear.
She loved her work again.
This is what The Anti-Commodity Framework does.
It’s not magic.
It’s design.
It’s philosophy applied with rigor.
The 5 Pillars That Make You Irreplaceable
Here’s how you can think about it for yourself:
✅ 1. Codified Proprietary IP
Name your frameworks.
Map your method.
Show your clients the path.
Commodities sell time. Masters sell certainty.
✅ 2. Proprietary Client Experience
Design transformation.
Create rituals.
Deliver what no automation can.
AI can deliver information. You deliver initiation.
✅ 3. Inimitable Story and Philosophy
Tell the story no one else can.
Reveal your convictions.
Share your scars.
AI can generate stories. It can’t live them.
✅ 4. Selective Fame
Be known by the right people.
For the right reason.
At the right time.
Don’t be everywhere. Be the only choice where it matters.
✅ 5. Premium Pricing Strategy
Price as a filter.
Fund real transformation.
Signal confidence.
Commodities race to the bottom. Masters hold the line.
These pillars don’t just help you survive AI.
They help you thrive because of it.
Because while others race to automate and cheapen their work..
You’ll make yours uncopyable.
Here's my challenge for you...
Ask yourself today:
Which parts of your business are easy to compare?
What can AI replicate or replace?
Where is your pricing sending the wrong signals?
How are you making yourself the only rational choice?
If you can’t answer these questions confidently...
Don’t panic.
But do take it seriously.
Because this is the work that separates the ones who will be here in 5 years…
From the ones who’ll be gone.
Fortunately that's teh focus of day 5 of my 5 Day Build your practice with AI Workshop...
Tomorrow...
I'll give you the whole scoop.
I believe we’re in a new age.
AI is a phenomenal tool.
But only for those who use it to amplify their difference...
Not erase it.
If you want to:
✅ Codify your method.
✅ Design uncopyable experiences.
✅ Craft a story clients can’t forget.
✅ Build your human moat.
✅ Price with confidence.
That’s what I do with my clients during the workshop and I'd like you to join us.
Because you don’t have to be a commodity.
You don’t have to be interchangeable.
You don’t have to race to the bottom.
You can own your category.
You can be the only choice.
This is The Certain Way.
Get out of your own way.
CTM