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As a newbie on the Internet twelve years
ago, I was full of ambition and bursting with energy. I was going to
find the perfect program that sold the perfect product so I could retire
to a perfect lifestyle with plenty of income. I had been fed so many
motivational videos I was addicted... which led me to my greatest
failures and most profound lessons.
Fortunately, a reality check halted my
financial freefall. After years of frustration and nothing to show for
my efforts except a debt approaching thousands of dollars, I began to
realize that there is no such thing as the marketing success
formula. But there was a clue -- something called USP, or Unique Selling
Proposition/Point.
The difficult thing to understand about
USP is that no one can hand it to you, not even me. Nobody can direct
you to it; you have to discover it for yourself. USP is about making
your offer different from and more valuable than, your competitors'
offer, and then, planting that idea in the minds of a targeted group of
prospects.
The population in general is on
advertising overload. They hold on to an idea of their own until some
slogan or headline breaks through and persuades them to change. Position
reflects your unique selling proposition, and that's what makes your
offer more valuable than what's being offered by your competition.
Let me use FedEx for an example. They
were competing with United Parcel Service and Postal Priority Mail, but
their slogan had two very important words that magnetized customers:
"When your package absolutely; positively has to get there
tomorrow". Ahh, absolutely, positively -- used alone, neither one
has the same punch as both used together!
While you can't be all things to all
people, your business should be perceived as different from your
competition in the minds of your prospects. It's like answering their
question: "...so what?" Make is short, simple, compelling, memorable,
credible. Make it absolutely, positively better than your
competition.
Domino's Pizza doesn't advertise a better
pizza. They don't advertise more toppings, crispier crust or even a
better price. Can you recall their USP? Sure you can ---"hot pizza
delivered in 30 minutes or less -- or it's free" Why call anyone else?
Answer the door, it's Domino's.
You get USP right, everything is easy.
You get USP wrong, everything is hard. The business world is fierce and
only the strongest survive.
But supposing you found a perfect company
in a business for more than ten years. Supposing their product was on
the cutting edge of a billion dollar market. And supposing their
compensation plan had a 75% payout; do you still need USP? You better
believe it.
Your competition now is your fellow
teammates. You are all working for the same company, selling the same
product, for the same price, and most are using the same scripts, the
same ads posted in the same places. You are using the company's
replicated website that gives identical information. You look at your
very large ID number and realize how vast your competition really is.
And they're all close at hand; at your heels, their breath on the back
of your neck.
How can your offer differ from theirs?
You can't adjust the price or alter company policy. But you do need
something grand, something powerful and competitively crushing
that will set you apart from the rest. This will cause sleepless nights
and mental agony until you fall on the solution. But it sure is a great
feeling. Like some genie has popped out of a bottle and your wish has
been granted.
When you find your USP, plate it in 14ct
gold and offer only a smile when people ask,"...how do you do it?"
© 2006 Esther Smith
About
the Author: Smith has published numerous articles and writes a blog for
all artists:
http://the-self-taught-artist.com/blog.html
She also coaches new students on how to leave the time-for-money trap and set up
Leveraged Income for life.
http://thepermanentventure.com/dcc.htm If you can’t sing or ride a
bull, you better learn how to make your money work for more money. |