Distinguishing Your Unique Sales Proposition (USP)

No matter what kind of business you are in, you will want to distinguish your Unique Sales Proposition or USP. This is true whether you have a number of competitors, or none. (In which case your USP would be that you are the only source.)

Essentially, your USP is an answer to the customer questions, "Why should I do business with you? What makes you so special?"

Sometimes your USP seems fairly obvious, but even when it seems that way, you might be overlooking something, so it is a good idea to ask existing customers why they come to you in particular. Corey Rudl polled his existing customers to discover what they liked about his eBook and discovered that people's favorite chapter was "How To Buy Or Lease Any Car At $50 Over True Dealer Cost." Consequently, he made it part of his sales copy and sold more books.

I have done this for my sideline business as a massage therapist. I asked my clients why they come to me and discovered that unlike many massage therapists who simply give a standard massage, I ask people what specific areas they want worked on and approach it like a mechanic. They like this, so I started using "The Mechanic" by my name on my business cards. People take notice and when I explain why I use the term, they instantly understand that I do remedial massage.

So the point is: Your existing happy customers probably have a better idea than you do about what your USP is. For this reason it is a good idea to ask them why they come to you and then use the answers to find a way to stand out in your particular field.

Next Installment: Presenting Your Credentials

12-Part Sales Letter In Depth: Providing The Solution

The next part of your 12- part sales letter is the part where you announce that you have the solution. You will necessarily want to make a justifiable claim that it is the BEST solution. (Otherwise, why would anyone want to buy it?)

In college we learn to be conservative with our claims. ("How dare I say I am the best? The professor will cut me to shreds!") I call this the Academic Bias. For this reason alone, many highly educated people with excellent solutions go unrecognized. If they were willing to go out on a limb and claim to be the best at something, people might take notice.

For those who feel it would be disingenuous to claim that they are offering the best solution, they might do well to consider certain qualifiers. For example, if there is a better solution that is more expensive, it might be reasonable to claim that a product is the best solution at a particular price. Or possibly, the product or service might be focused at a particular market. Here is how I would qualify myself:

"I don't make pretty websites so I don't claim to be a webmaster. But I do have a knack with words and frequently find my projects listing near the top of Google, so I call myself a darned good SEO specialist. Combined with my background in technical support, mail-order fulfillment and alternative medicine, I can safely say I am probably one of the best internet marketing consultants with knowledge of the of the alternative medicine market, particularly when it comes to marketing an alternative health book."

Now that is a mouthful when it is placed inside a 12 part sales letter, but it give you some idea of the kind of thing you can say to both tout yourself as the best and remain truthful.

All this points to the need to distinguish your Unique Sales Proposition. Briefly, your Unique Sales Proposition or USP is what makes your product stand out from the crowd. Rather than plunging ahead with the rest of the parts of the sales letter immediately, let's devote an installment to distinguishing your uniques sales proposition.

Next Installment: Distinguishing Your Unique Sales Proposition (USP)

http://internetmarketing.meadrose.com/

12-Part Sales Letter In Depth: Identifying The Problem

After getting their attention with the Headline and reiterating with the Sub-head the next task is to give the reader a real sense that you feel their pain, partly because you are helping them to re-experience it. Why? Because many people simply put up with problems and figure they are just part of life.

Studies show that people tend not to take action unless they are in a state of agitation or irritation. In the process of Identifying the Problem, we need to produce that state in the reader. So first, we need to make the reader feel, "Wow! That describes my situation to a T!" Next we need to help our reader experience the irritation over that particular situation that will make them want to do something about it. So, we must paint a vivid picture of the circumstance in question.

Returning to our example of the lost cell phone:

"Is this you?

In consideration of the other theater patrons, you shut off your cell phone. You have a wonderful evening out, and go to bed early.

The following day you look for your cell phone and can't find it. You dial it from your land line and still can't find it.

A little irritated, you check your jacket pocket. No phone.

You check the car. No phone.

A day later, your date calls to tell you she found your cell phone in the back seat of her car. Meanwhile, you missed 3 important calls; one from your family and two from business contacts.

It almost seems like those companies want you to lose your cell phone just so you'll buy another!"

Even if they haven't had the exact experience, hopefully you have produced some vicarious frustration on their part...and set them up for your solution.

Next Installment: 12-Part Sales Letter In Depth: Provide The Solution

http://internetmarketing.meadrose.com/