What makes you so special?

That's a question you should always be ready to answer! Some people call it the USP (Unique Selling Proposition); others call it the SCB (Single Compelling Benefit). What you call it really doesn't matter, as long as you know the answer. If you're struggling with the answer, there are a few cold, hard guidelines that may help you arrive at the answer.

Unless you're selling entertainment, you'll generally find your answer somewhere in the following list:

• Time You save the customer time, an increasingly valuable commodity these days. "You mean I can sell this watch that always seems to be an hour slow?"
• Money You either save the customer money or help him make money he wouldn't have otherwise made. "You mean there's a real market for counterfeit machines?"
• Safety You save lives or prevent harm. "You mean that school crossing guard's a millionaire and I just didn't know it?"
• Quality You simply do things better than everyone else, and that matters to somebody. "You mean I should open up a stand at the corner market to sell watches that are accurate to a nanosecond?"
• Ego You don't fit into any of the other categories, but you've figured out how to appeal to that basal human instinct. "You mean that slapping another name on the same car and charging 25% more for it really is a good idea?"

If you've discovered what makes you special, run back through the list one more time to try to make sure your product or service doesn't simultaneously require a much greater sacrifice of one of the other items in the list. Three Easy Ways to Rob a Bank probably won't sell well for very long if every follower winds up dead 30 seconds after becoming a millionaire. Think about the five items in the list above as providing a set of checks and balances. And now, your product or service needs to be the one thing that appears to tilt the table in the overall favor of the customer.

Now that you understand why you're special, focus on effectively delivering the message. The blatant attack is not always effective. (Yes, the Q-word has been one of the most overused word in marketing for many years!) If you're still struggling with how to communicate why you're special, a focus group might help provide the answer.

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