'What's Your Unique Selling Proposition?'
By: Marty Fiegl
Copyright© 2002-07-15

I'm sure you've heard it before, you need a USP (Unique Selling Point/Position/Proposition).

Hopefully you do. If you don't you should be able to find your USP by the end of this article or at least improve your existing USP. To sum up a USP, you could simply ask yourself this question about your own product or service.

Why should I buy from you?

Because, simply put, that's what the customer is asking themselves, why should I by this product from this person over the next person with the same or similiar product or service? What am I going to gain by getting this product or service. A USP sets the stage and can answer most of the customers questions.

When I first started marketing online I used to read anything I could get my hands on about sales letters and copy writing. I read everything I could by Terry Dean, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Joe Vitale and Yanik Silver. I didn't just read their sales letters, I studied them. I didn't just read their books, I actually applied what I learned from them.

I quickly found out without a USP I was dead in the water. They all had them. Each and everyone of these well-known marketers had a USP for their product or service and once I realized this, it became obvious to me that I needed one and you do too!! I did make some sales here and there without a USP, but it wasn't until I found my USP that my profits really started to soar!

A quick background on my product at the time (which is still pulling in $300+ a day). I was trying to sell a wholesale source guide I had created. I had to answer the following questions about my product to find my USP.

1. What makes my product better then the competitions?
2. What is the biggest benefit it delivers to my customers?

Answering these questions makes it simple to find your USP.

Is your product or service better because it's easier to use?
Is it more fashionable?
Have special features?
Is your product or services biggest benefit that your customer will save time, money, increase their income in their spare time?

While everyone else was selling wholesale sources lists with company names and addresses they failed to make them internet enabled! They had no websites listed, it seemed obvious to me what they were lacking. And this is when my USP was formed!

My product was better than the competitions because my wholesale sources were accessable online and had direct links right to their websites. My products biggest benefit was that the information was organized better. Which turned into "Everything is at your fingertips 24 hours a day" in the sales letter. I also offered free updates for life and reprint rights.

So, how can you find your USP?

Answer the above questions about your products or services and you should be able to find your USP very quickly.

Does your product save your customer more money then the competition?
Can you add something to your product like a bonus that will put you ahead of the competition?

Even if you can't find a USP with your main product adding a bonus to your offer or price could be your USP. If someone has to choose who he or she will by from and one offers an additional free bonus for ordering today, while the other doesn't for the same price. Who do you think will get the sale? Doing this to re-hash old products also works wonderful.

So, have you found YOUR product or services USP yet? Probably not... But if you take an objective look at your product verses the competition and WRITE why it's better you'll be ahead of everyone else who doesn't. I know too many people that say "my product is better, blah blah." But they never write down how and why it will benefit their customers. They just think this in their mind and wonder why no one is buying their products.

A good exercise to do this is to compare other people products or services and say what is better, and what's the main benefit then apply this to your product and you can get a broader understanding on USP's. You may find it funny how few marketers are doing this.

Take Care,

Marty Fiegl
marty@directsalesmarketingonline.com

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