How To Develop Your Unique Sales Point and Boost Your Business
Imagine you’re on an elevator ride and only have seconds to tell your story
Have you ever walked into an elevator and met someone who asked what you do? It’s happened to me on a number of occasions or I’ve entered an elevator and heard somebody ask another person “what do you do” or “What’s that about”, after noticing a name card, inscription on a piece of clothing, or some other eye-catching item.
This happens often at conventions, seminars, and other public meeting scenarios where people wear badges displaying the function they are attending or involved in.
When they walked into an elevator people are naturally curious and often will see the badge or something displayed by a T-shirt or piece of clothing and make an inquiry.
Once the inquiry is made it presents an opportunity for a story to be told. It opens up the possibility to tell what your product or service is about and make an invited sales pitch right on the spot.
In the marketing and sales industry, this is referred to as an “elevator speech”, coined primarily on the type of scenario outlined above. It is also referred to as a “unique sales point” or a “USP.”
An elevator speech or USP is an opportunity to create an immediate impression and open the door to further discussion and the possibility of creating a relationship that leads to a sale.
It is a powerful marketing tool that should be developed and readily available to share your USP under any circumstances. It can make the difference between making a sale or just having a conversation that goes nowhere.
Of course, the particular opportunity is not just limited to an event within an elevator. A USP can and should be used as a specific part of your marketing strategy and used at every opportunity it can be presented.
Developing, practicing, and delivering a USP is one of the most important parts of marketing a business and a huge part of its branding.
Follow the points below to help you created and deliver a quick powerful and persuasive marketing message whether you are in an elevator or not.
1. Determine who your ideal prospect or customer is
The first thing is to determine who your best prospects or customers are for the product or service you’re offering. This becomes your target or niche market. It should have sufficient demand for what you have to sell.
Without a demand for your product, it won’t do much good to create a message for something that nobody wants.
Start with your product or service. Describe and understand very clearly what problems they solve, what pain points might they remove from what people are suffering from. People are interested in results that deliver what they want. Nothing else.
So many businesses start up with creating or acquiring a product first and then they look for a market. It should be just the opposite. Find the market first.
2. Finding your target audience
Once you know the pain points and solutions that your product or service delivers, research and find the people that are looking for the solutions your product or service provides.
Research and find the answers to these questions.
What do they do? Where do they live? How much money do they make? These characteristics are referred to as demographics.
3. What are their daily lives like?
Find out their hobbies, likes, and dislikes. Where do they shop? What preferences do they have - cultural, political, etc. What are their spending habits, what clubs and associations do they belong to or are affiliated with?
These are referred to as psychographics.
4. What are their challenges, needs, and interest?
This is where you match your product/service delivery to the pain points and solutions your target audience faces. It is a crucial part of developing your USP.
Determine what pain points this person or group of persons share? What are the issues they wish could be solved for them and give them relief or a good feeling or experience?
Carefully determined how your product or service delivers the solution to their most pressing problems(s) and leaves them with a good feeling or experience. Once this is determined you have the foundation for developing a powerful and effective USP.
5. Differentiate your product or service from your competitors
A key point of selling anything amidst competition and the noise of advertising in the market is to show how your product/service is different, unique, or distinct in some way that stands apart from your competition and makes yours the best choice in the mind of the prospect or customer.
This becomes your USP.
Never make the difference about price. That’s a losing proposition. There will always be a competitor that is willing to offer a price lower just to get the sale. Pricing makes you just another commodity like all the others selling the same or similar product or service.
Some ways to differentiate are offering a superb service that nobody else is delivering or can deliver. People love to be catered to and they will pay for it.
Stress benefits, not features. Create the picture or perception in a person’s mind of how their lives will change for the better if they purchase your product or use your service.
After you’ve completed all of the steps above…
NOW PRETEND THAT THE PERSON YOU’VE JUST DESCRIBED AND IDENTIFIED IS STEPPING INTO AN ELEVATOR WITH YOU AND AFTER YOU’VE EXCHANGED HELLOS…. YOU ARE ASKED; “What do you do?”
Write your response out and make sure it is no more than 30 seconds and that it provides information that meets at least three of the 4U’s of a powerful USP.
Whatever your response is it should be Useful, Unique, Urgent, and Ultra-Specific. Get this down so you can deliver it smoothly and with confidence.
Practice it until it becomes second nature and when you deliver it with a smile you’ll have the best chance to capture new customers and boost your business.
