A few months ago, a news story about Amazon was making the rounds.

Amazon had what was thought to be an AI-powered "Just Walk Out" checkout option in its Amazon Fresh Stores — you would just walk out of the store with whatever groceries you wanted, and it would magically charge your credit card the right amount.

Although it seemed completely automated, Just Walk Out relied on more than 1,000 workers behind the scenes in India watching and labeling CCTV videos to ensure accurate checkouts.

This revelation caused much derision in tech circles, but it made me admire Amazon even more.

While most other companies would have waited months or even years to perfect their AI technology before rolling it out, Amazon was scrappy and prioritized speed of implementation.

I'm currently in the process of getting a quote for 15-20 hours of specialized design work. I'm getting quotes that I'm happy with, but delivery timelines are 4-6 weeks and, in some cases, three months or more.

Slow delivery is a show-stopper for me. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that success loves speed. A project loses its magic if speed to implementation is slow.

This brings me to the single easiest way to differentiate yourself from your competitors — do it faster. If your competitor typically does it in 4-6 weeks, do it in 4-6 days...and charge twice as much.

Speed doesn't always have to be tied to the delivery of your core product or service. Sometimes, it's not possible to do this faster. But you can return calls or support emails faster. Follow up with leads faster. Send quotes or proposals faster.

Affluent buyers value time more than money.

By making speed a key differentiator, you'll attract better clients, make more profit, and tap into the unexplainable magic that comes with speed.