ARE YOU TISSUE OR KLEENEX?
How to Grow Your Business:
Do you use tissue or Kleenex? Do you pack a lunch in plastic storage bags or Ziplocs? Do you see where this is going? All successful marketing and sales – and I mean all – requires properly identifying your service or product as a brand. That first mention evoking an image of your brand is critical. Can you “Just Do It” without thinking of shoes? Can you be cheesy without thinking of orange snack food? You get the point.
When your public hears the name of your firm, company or consultancy, what adjectives come to mind? How are you and your colleagues known throughout your business community? If you don’t know, ask today! This is most definitely a case where what you don’t know can hurt you, and drive you out of business in the end. The key here is that you are not selling: You are asking for their advice on improving your company. And yes, this is an excellent indirect selling opportunity – “invisible selling.”
Hopefully, the adjectives you hear are positive. Look for common themes in how your peers and clients describe you. Ask this vital question: If they could choose anything, what additional products or services would they want you to provide? Leave the door wide open. They might recommend things that make no sense for your business plan . . . but then you might get those one or two ideas that light a creative fire in your belly and lead you to dramatic sales growth! Then use those same themes to create and communicate who you are in every aspect of your sales acceleration.
A UPS, or Unique Positioning Statement, effectively distinguishes you from your competition. Worded correctly, it can do the job of conveying your mission and message quickly and in a form any of your employees can repeat. It can be used as your company slogan or a slightly longer version, often referred to as an “elevator pitch.” The concept of the elevator pitch is that if someone asked what your firm did while riding in an elevator up to the 25th floor, you could succinctly capture the essence, strengths and uniqueness of your organization – all in let’s say 20 seconds.
Putting it simply, a UPS is a written statement that explains how you get new sales, new clients, why your current customers stay with you and why they keep on coming back for more and refer new business to you. Done right, it’s a “seed” that you sow in the minds of new customers, potential customers and even people on the street that will generate sales growth.
If your company doesn’t already have one, now it is time to differentiate from all the rest. Make your firm/company special in the eyes of your customers. What is the honest fact that sets you and your organization apart from the rest?
Talk to your longterm employees about things you’ve done that they remember as setting you apart. Talk to new hires about the things that drew them to your company. Talk to clients about what they think of when they think of your business. This input will be vital in concocting your UPS!
Your UPS, also known as your “takeaway” is one of the most powerful sales accelerator weapons, featuring your uniqueness. It should permeate your sales sprint along with the value of “listening” (referred to in a previous post).
Dr. Allan Colman
Chief Revenue Officer
ClosersGroup.com
1.310.508.8600