Food for thought: Selling and the importance of USPs

As the global recession continues to bite, all business professionals are under pressure to maximize every sales opportunity that comes their way. So what are USPs? Why are they important? How do they enable successful sales?

USPs - Unique Sales Propositions or more recently Unique Selling Points - have been around since the 1940's, particularly in relation to the way that advertising and marketing influenced the mass consumer market. Wind the clock forward and USPs have now become our sales mantra. However, they are only a part of the whole sales process; they provide product or service differentiation. Alone they do not guarantee sales, but they certainly help.

First and foremost, you will only sell to present day clients (your customers) if they want to buy. Moreover, they are most likely to buy when they are convinced that what you are offering is of value to them and "special", in other words, unique.

Therefore, in today's challenging times, it is ever more vital that your services differentiate you from the crowd and you can offer compelling evidence that you are experienced and best in your field. Check out our five steps on how to identify relevant USPs and how to leverage them to best effect:

• Step 1 - Understand what your client is buying. What business problem will you be solving for them? What products, skills, or capabilities are they looking for you to provide? If you don't know, then go and find out! If you cannot meet their needs, then this is the time to qualify the sales opportunity out. It is better not to waste each other's time - and often a client will come back to you for something else as they will be inclined to trust you as a 'professional'.
• Step 2 - Also, ensure you know why they need to buy. For example, if they don't re-jig their shop floor processes or cut 10% from their supply chain or improve the cost effectiveness of their customer services, will they lose profits or fail to achieve this year's budget? Getting the client to recognise the implications of what will happen if they do nothing will help you gain a better understanding of their exact needs.
• Step 3 - Identify what is unique about your service in this situation. Which elements of your service are the perfect solution to their problem and will be valued? Focus on them, distil them down and you'll discover your relevant USPs. Armed with these and the way they neatly fit the client's business issue will put you in a strong position for closing a sale.
• Step 4 - Check your USPs really are unique. Many people think they have a USP when actually they are the same as everyone else. Be honest with yourself and think outside the box to identify what truly differentiates you. For example, it might be that your services alone aren't unique, but the combination of your excellent products, your long experience in the marketplace and the fact that you have worked with fifteen of the top twenty companies in a particular sector all combine to give you a great USP. All sales opportunities are situational so e nsure the USPs relate to your current client situation and are not simply generic.
• Step 5 - Amplify your USPs with examples. Having case studies about third party situations is non-threatening and enables your client to sit on the 'same side of the table' as you. Together you can evaluate a case study and confirm that your solution is what your client needs. So gather or create a library of real life case studies that provide your clients with powerful assurance that a) they are buying a proven service, b) other people have bought and seen results, and c) you have a successful track record in delivering this service.

Fundamentally, little of this matters if your client does not want to buy. Successful sales people ensure they understand what their clients need and, if possible, try to influence that need to favour their '"nique" proposition. They then spend time describing their services in a way that really match the client need, reinforce their uniqueness and, finally, provide evidence that they work.

So what do you need to do?

Dedicate some non-critical time to articulate your generic USPs and building a library of case studies in advance of your sales work. However, we all fall into the trap of using these generic USPs in real sales situations. Alone they are simply not powerful; they need tailoring to each situation. You should respond to each sales opportunity by focusing on and maybe rewording those USPs so that your client, and most importantly the person you are selling to, will see value, and then support them with case studies which resonate with your client. Don't just grab the "ibrary copies".

Being confident in your USPs and being able to demonstrate them with powerful third party endorsement will definitely increase the number of people who become excited by and interested in your services. But note: sometimes the only real uniqueness in your proposition is you. It is often your skills that will help the client recognise not only the value of your proposition, but also the value of engaging and working with you - now.

This is why USPs are as important today as they were 60 years ago, even though the selling process has changed.

Patrick Chapman, Elevation Learning