Using Your Unique Selling Proposition
One of the biggest issues I see or hear when it comes to networking and word-of-mouth marketing strategies comes from the individual businessperson’s mindset. So often, people believe that in order to network successfully and set themselves up for the most referrals, they need to tell everyone who will listen (and some who won’t) everything that their business does. This misconception simply leads many to believe that by talking to everyone in the room, they’ll maximize their referrals.
This is not at all the case. What this actually does is bores your intended audience, and overwhelms them with more information than they could ever possibly remember.
The key instead is to come up with a unique selling proposition for your company, business or service, and use it when you network. Your unique selling proposition will be a brief summary of your business, the key word here being brief. You’ll want to share this description as concisely and as engaging as possible. Not only will your audience walk away understanding what you do, but if you have described your business in a compelling way, they’ll be more likely to remember you because you entertained them and kept them listening.
The biggest indicator of a good unique selling proposition is that it gets people to ask you more about your business, and keeps them genuinely interested in what you do. They should be short, sweet, and to the point, without being vague or misleading. Your goal is to open the door for a conversation, not leave any potential contacts confused.
What is your business’s unique selling proposition? How do you use it to get word-of-mouth referrals? Tell me in the comments below!
I definitely am interested in learning more on improving my selling proposition. Thank You for your teaching Mr. Misner.
Hi Dr Misner,
I’m a Graphic Designer in a BNI chapter in South Manchester, UK. My USP is the fact that I am a Chartered Marketer as well so I can look at a brief from a strategic point of view and give a more rounded service to my clients, which most other graphic designers cannot offer.
Also, I have another USP (Ubiquitous Sticky Point)… the name of my business ‘Flock of Pigs’.
This USP at least helps me to be remembered.
What would be helpful in this blog post is some examples. Please add them.
My USP is as follows (and I’m open to constructive criticism):
I show people how to get out of debt (student loans, credit card, auto, and even mortgage) in 10 years or less without spending one penny more than they are currently and, at the same time, build up their retirement by $300K or more.
My USP is: Since CNW Media is a multi-media advertising business; we can showcase your product to your potential clients on multiple platforms for a fraction of the cost.