People who advise others about how to sell and develop their business seem to be obsessed with the idea of a USP. I am strangely troubled by this obsession. Firstly, when I looked at my own proposition, I wasn't quite sure it was unique. Of-course we are all unique, but then is that unique? If our unique selling points are of no interest to our customer then a USP is a distraction rather than a selling point.
According to the Chemical Engineer I work, with real uniqueness is difficult to find. So, let's move beyond the USP and just think about what the customer wants. If in doubt ask them; listen to them; listen some more; help them think; and, give them the ideal conditions to make a good decision. When you have done that then you can tell them how you will help; and how you are qualified to help.
Good luck with sales in 2012.
Listening is the key. When selling you may have a USP, but my feeling is that this is very rare, so don't fixate on it. Instead, focus on relationship building - the chances of winning business on the back of a deep and productive relationship are always good ... and you never know, this might lead to a 'unique' working partnership - these are much easier to find. The 'Chemical' Engineer!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the interesting emails. I need to work out how to make your views visible to everyone. xx
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