I've been hearing for years that a successful business needs to
have a USP (unique sales point). The problem is that most
businesses find difficulty in identifying what their USP is. And
even if they have a USP, eventually they find their competitors
doing the same thing.
So instead of losing sleep wondering what your USP could be, far
better to think about what your ESP (emotional sales point),
could be.
Your ESP is about how your customers feel when they deal with
you. How they feel when they use your product or service.
A USP could be - "We have a 24 hour delivery service" The ESP
would be - "You'll be enjoying our product the day after
ordering it"
A USP - "Our prices are very competitive" The ESP - "You'll feel
you've received value for money if you buy this" As all good
sales people know, we don't sell a feature (USP) we sell a
benefit (ESP).
Customers don't buy Nike clothing because there made from
quality materials, they buy Nike because they want to feel like
Tiger Woods on the Golf course or Andre Aggasi on the tennis
court.
They don't buy Microsoft products because of all the research
they've done, they buy them because they feel good about them.
Start to think what your ESP is. What does your product or
service do that makes your customers feel secure, comfortable,
acceptable to others, admired, stylish, wealthy, important,
happy, relaxed or sexy.
For those of you selling engineering or technical products and
think this isn't for you - think again.
Some years ago I worked as a Sales Engineer for Loctite
industrial adhesives. On several occasions I proved to engineers
through numerous tests, how my product could save time and money
over the assembly methods they were using.
Many engineers agreed with all the test results however they
often rejected the product on the basis that it didn't FEEL
right for them. I realised then that I needed an ESP to overcome
this resistance.
So there you have it - always remember that a customer will make
an emotional decision before a logical one, whatever they're
buying - so what's your ESP?
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