Like all skills, the better you get, the better to want to be. You may achieve a level at which you are happy to plateau. But even then you will need to practice to maintain your performance. Think of it like developing a sporting skill or perhaps a performing skill or a creative skill like sculpture. If you want to improve, you must acknowledge you will have to practice and train…
In the 1920’s, sales guru Elmer Wheeler identified five simple rules or Wheelerpoints. And even though this advice is almost 100 years old, it’ll help you improve your sales, regardless of what you sell or how you sell it.
You might even be familiar with the first point: He said,
“Don’t sell the steak sell the sizzle. It’s the sizzle that sells the steak and not the cow. Hidden in everything you sell in life is a sizzle. The sizzle is the tang in the cheese. The crunch in the cracker. The whiff in the coffee and the pucker in the pickle. . .”
In other words those things that make you stand out or that make you unique?
How to leave your competition behind by identifying your Unique Selling Proposition and guarantee. . .
Have you come across people who like to tell you about Unique Selling Propositions (USP’s) and guarantees?
We understand what these people mean but do we understand why they’re important. And do we know how to go about determining what they are and how they will help us to achieve objectives like:
- Attract new leads
- Get more repeat business
- Stand out from the crowd
- Generate immediate cash flow through sales
- Attract a profitable niche market
- Build a positive reputation and develop a competitive status
To discover what you have to offer your customers requires you to ask yourself some questions…
- Why should my customers buy from me?
- What can I offer that my competitor down the street can’t?
- What do my customers expect?
- What will make customers want to and continue to buy from me?
It’s hard to believe, but nine out of ten business owners can’t answer these questions clearly and convincingly. . .
Use this checklist to help you stand out from the crowd:
✅ Is your USP truly unique?
✅ Is your guarantee different and unique to your business?
✅ Are you able to carry out your guarantee?
✅ Are your USP and guarantee exciting impactive?
✅ Will your USP and guarantee get people talking?
✅ Will your customers react to it positively?
✅ Is your guarantee specific?
✅ Does your guarantee address the frustrations and fears of customers?
✅ Does your guarantee have a ‘if this happens, we will do this’ concept?
✅ Is your USP and guarantee realistic and believable?
Hear from the man himself – this advice is nearly 100 years old…
Take a few minutes to watch this vintage footage of Elmer. It is truly inspiring… At the end, think: If the production quality was unto modern standards and the flip chart was replaced with some powerpoint slides – it could probably have been written yesterday. In other words, the principles of successful selling remain evergreen regardless of new media opportunities.
We appreciate that these are fast moving times.
You might be doing a great job but wondering what more you can do! You might be on the precipice, staring into the abyss or you might be running flat out trying to cope with demand.
Wherever you are right now, the best thing for your business might be to pause and discuss your current activity and plans with an outside person.
If you need that, we’re here and ready. Just ping a message [click to send email to info@good-2-great.co.uk >>] and we’ll get you booked in.
