| |
| |
|
Attraction Information |
|
|
|
Are You Irresistibly Attractive?
If you've done any reading on the subject of marketing, you've certainly heard the term "Unique Selling Proposition" or "USP." As a reminder, your USP is what positions you in the marketplace --- are you, or what you sell, the best, the cheapest, the fastest, the easiest, the longest lasting, the most reliable, the most prestigious? Your USP is what makes you distinct from your competitors, but it's often the thing first-time business owners don't fully understand. Lara and I just started working together last month, and one of the first things we had to tackle was her USP. As a web site designer, she is part of a well-developed marketplace often competing with several other companies for every job. "I really don't know why they keep picking the other guy. It's so frustrating after I've worked so hard to get in the door in the first place. The only way I feel like I can get the job is if I underbid it, but I'll never be able to keep my business running that way." "Well, you're right," I replied. "You shouldn't have to lower your prices just to get every job. There are certainly web designers out there who are charging less than you, but there are probably an equal number of them that are charging more. So, if we assume that there are companies hiring your higher- priced competitors, then maybe price isn't what every prospect bases their decision on." "It sure has been for me. That's always the reason they say they didn't choose me. It makes me think that I'm going to have to lower my prices in order to get any work, but like I said, I'm not charging anything out of the ordinary. My hourly rate is at the market average as far as I can tell." There were a couple of issues that we explored during the rest of the conversation, including her pricing, her competitors, her target market, her mission, etc. But the one that really hit home was her USP. Up until this point, Lara didn't realize that she was the one forcing her prospects to make their decisions based on price. She was marketing using the Competition Model instead of the Distinction Model. In the Competition Model, your prospects see you as offering the same service as your competitors. In their mind, there is no delineation between what you and your competitors offer and how you offer it. So the only decision-making factor they are left with is price. If they think all web designers offer the same level of web site design, can complete it in the same time frame and will be equally professional, what's left? That's right ? price. Think about how you make buying decisions. If you are getting your clothes dry-cleaned every week and you think that the three local dry cleaners all do a decent job, will have your suits ready in two days, and are equally friendly or disagreeable, aren't you going to go with the cheapest one? But some dry cleaners pick up and deliver don't they? Some offer tailoring and mending services in addition to dry cleaning. Others set up shop inside large grocery stores, so you can knock out two errands in one stop. These things make them distinct from their competitors. There are people who will pay a little more in order to have their dry cleaning picked up. There are others that will pay a little more to be able to drop it off and pick it up at the same time they are buying their week's groceries. If you don't want to compete strictly on price, you've got to be DISTINCT from your competitors. That way, your prospects have something, besides price, to base their decision on. By emphasizing that distinction in your marketing efforts, you will naturally attract those prospects who value your distinction. And when you are Irresistibly Attractive, the sales pressure is off. You just go out there, show them who you are and what you can do, and they come to you! So how do you make you and your business DISTINCT and, therefore, Irresistibly Attractive? By creating your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). What makes you different than your competitors? Are you faster? Do you deliver better quality? Are you more responsive to their needs? Are you closer in proximity? Do you specialize in a particular industry? Take a moment to put yourself in the mind of your prospects. If you were hiring someone to perform your kind of service, what would you want? You can practice by thinking about your own buying decisions. If I was hiring someone to clean my house, I would want them to:
If I could find someone to do these things for $65, I would hire them. But, if I would have to sacrifice the quality of their work or their reliability in order to pay the lower price, I would go with someone else. It's important to me to have a clean house and to know that I can count on that person to show up on Thursdays before I have guests arrive on Friday. So, here's the process: When you review your materials, try to look at them with fresh eyes as a prospect would. After going through them once and making notes about the impression they set, go through them again specifically looking for the top two distinctions from your list. Do your sales materials/tools really bring your message home? Are your top 2 distinctions clearly emphasized in your materials? Are there things you need to add, omit, or revise in order to create your distinct impression on your prospects? Once you are communicating a very specific and consistent message about yourself and your business, you will find that you no longer have to sell. Business comes to you - and it's the kind of work you like that pays you what you deserve. About The Author Kimberly Stevens is the author of the ebook series, *The Profitable Business Owner: A Step-by-Step System for Starting & Running a Successful Service Business*. Download Sample Chapters & get her free MiniCourse, *The 10 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make & How To Avoid Them* at: http://www.askthebizcoach.com/ebooks.htm
MORE RESOURCES:
Attraction - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Its Your Life - Take Control If you seem to spend much of your life doing things for other people, if being ordered about from dawn till dusk is a normal component of your life, do something about it.Perhaps you love being with your children, but don't seem to have the time. So, The Thing Is... We Reap What We Sow So, the thing is? we reap what we sow.A few weeks ago, my daughters and I planted some seeds. Self-Esteem: The Foundation of All You Achieve At its core, your sense of self-esteem or self-worth has a huge impact on how you live your life.It frames how you feel about yourself, how you relate to others, how much you achieve in your work - and how you feel about pretty much everything. Security Is An Inside Job While I was growing up, my dad repeatedly told me that when I completing my schooling, I needed to get a good job. In fact, I should try to land some sort of good paying job, preferably one that was done indoors. Whos World Is It? The World Is Yours - Invite Success Who's World Is It?Who's world really is it? Is it a man's world? There is a song by James Brown. "This is a mans world" is the chorus. Theres No Glory In Being The Richest Man In The Graveyard! What was your energy level like today? Did you wake up this morning like Tony the Tiger feeling Grrr---ate?.? Did you jump into all your activities today with enthusiasm? Were you rarin' to go at the first chance? Did your "get-up-and-go" rare up and roar, or, did it get up and went?Down For The Count!Well, if your get-up-and-go got up and went, let's see if we can do something about it. Hot Date Tonight? Re-entering the dating scene is rather scary, but as a single woman, mom of four, I decided it's time to play the field. After all, who wants to grow old single and alone? So, I consulted a few friends, an online dating service, and several single women I knew - but ultimately most of them are "satisfied with single". To Be A Cut Above The Rest! Mannerisms and personality traits go a long way in making impressions on other people. Some people unknowingly have mannerisms, which humor others. The Winning Combo! What do we all strive for in life? Success! Success is the ultimate destination. Every one of us has the good intentions and capacity to achieve something but we lack the follow-through. Heal Thyself First As I connect with more and more women I am seeing that many have a desperate need for a man. I had one woman tell me that her ex-boyfriend put a gun to her head and told her to get out of his life. Attracting Opportunity -- 10 Tips You get what you attract - with your thoughts, words, beliefs, actions and inactions. Here are 10 tips for attracting opportunity:? Decide what you want, what you must do to get it, and then map out a plan to do what you must. Transformational Counseling - Part Two Once one becomes present to his or her self-limiting belief, the opportunity then exists, possibly for the first time in the person's life, to invent a possibility for his or her life, to begin to reinvent his or her life anew. An individual's possibility is how that person will be in the present, free of the constraints or barriers of the past, a creation from nothing. Doing Your Lifes Work Most people want to do their life's work. Some people are able to separate work completely from life and be happy doing anything, but this is not the norm. What Do You Do? When I go out and talk to business people, I hear them talking about all the things they do from day to day. They talk about the problems they have and their frustrations with a whole variety of things they do. Digging To The Root Of Your Problem Most people have some aspects of themselves that they would like to change. But how often do you dig deeply to find the root of the problem?You have to address the issues that need to be changed. Thought and The Law of Attraction We have all heard the expression, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again." But to carry on without thinking about why you failed only leads to more failure. What is Intution and How do I use it? Intuition is an incredible resource and gift that we have been given to help us live our best life. Unfortunately, not many people know what it is or how to use it. Four Proven Techniques On How To Capture Positive Habits Bad habits, we all have them. They keep us from accomplishing our dreams, make us say and do things that really aren't in our integrity. Social Skills Training Can Positively Impact Your Life Millions of people become anxious and insecure when speaking in public, starting a conversation, or mingling with others in a social setting.There are a large number of individuals who are extremely successful in their professional lives, but tend to shy away from meeting new people, attending social functions, and interpersonal communication. Reminiscing About Your Past Can Stimulate Your Future Have you ever thought much about how some of your past experiences and talents influenced how your life turned out? I sure have and I've found it not only interesting but valuable, too. Whatever the case, I believe we can all find value in reminiscing about our past.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
