Generalizing – targeting a wider audience

The opposite strategy to specializing is generalizing, which although has the risk of having you perceived as a jack of all trades, can also pay off if executed well. When using a generalist strategy, it's important to set yourself apart from specialists, which includes not using phrases in your marketing that suggest you are a specialist—there are few better ways to lose the trust of a knowledgeable customer by claiming to be a specialist in one subject/service, and then in the same conversation/marketing claim to offer a list of other services:

Figure 4.1: Would you trust an advert that claims to specialize and at the same time contradicts itself by offering unrelated services? The stakes are even higher when there is no room for mistake in what you are buying.

The main strength of being a generalist is the ability to increase your relevance to a wider range of projects, and providing that you have the level of skill that these project opportunities...