Ask for the Example (Objection Reframe)
When they ask 'how are you different?' they're really saying 'I got burned before' — so find the burn.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 85%
When a prospect asks 'how do I know you're any different?' Henry says they're really saying 'I had a bad experience I'm not telling you about, and I'm worried it'll happen again.' So instead of listing differentiators, he asks them to give an example: have you worked with other companies, and was there a particular thing you didn't like? Once the specific failure is on the table, he confirms that if it had gone differently they'd have gotten the result, then shows exactly how his offer prevents that specific thing. This either lets him differentiate with surgical precision or reveals a genuine weakness in his own service that he should fix.
Origin
Henry built the reframe from noticing that the 'why are you different' question is never about differentiation in the abstract — it's a defense triggered by a prior disappointment the prospect won't volunteer unless asked for a concrete example.
Core principles
- 01'How are you different?' is a disguised memory of a past bad experience.
- 02You can't answer the objection until you know the specific thing that went wrong before.
- 03Surfacing the exact past failure lets you differentiate precisely — or reveals a real flaw to fix.
How to run it
- 1
Refuse to answer abstractly
Instead of listing why you're different, say you'd love to answer and ask for an example.
- 2
Ask about past companies
Ask whether they've worked with other companies before and whether a particular thing happened that they didn't like.
- 3
Confirm the counterfactual
Ask whether, if that thing had gone differently, they'd have gotten the result they wanted. Getting a yes isolates the real issue.
- 4
Differentiate precisely — or fix the flaw
Show exactly how your offer prevents that specific thing. If you can't, you've discovered a real weakness in your service to fix.
Pro tip One of two useful things always happens: you close by addressing the real fear, or you learn what to improve.
In the wild
A prospect asks how Henry's high-end mastermind differs from others. Henry asks for an example; the prospect says in past masterminds he'd ask a question and get vague, philosophical non-answers when he just wanted to know what to do. Henry confirms a direct answer would have gotten the result.
→ Henry differentiates precisely: no philosophy, no t-shirts or fancy dinners — they Uber in food and spend every minute solving the prospect's actual problems with exact scripts, even sending a video of him doing it for another client.
Common mistakes
Answering the surface question
Reciting differentiators to 'how are you different?' misses the hidden fear. You must extract the specific past failure before you can address the real objection.
Is it for you?
Best for
Consultants and coaches handling differentiation objections on calls.
Not ideal for
First-time buyers with no prior bad experience to surface.
From the transcript
“when people ask that question what they're really saying is I had a bad experience... I'm worried that this thing will happen again.”
From the episode
Dan Henry: The Marketing Strategy Entrepreneurs Use to Build Massive, Money-Making Brands
Dan Henry