"Hello, Mr. Prospect. I know your time is short, so I'll get right to the point. Your company manufactures widgets. You buy steel and copper from a competitor. You're currently paying $100 a ton for steel and $75 a ton for copper, of which you waste roughly 25%. My firm will sell you a higher grade steel and a higher alloy copper for $95 and $69 a ton, respectively, freight prepaid, which saves you an extra $3 a ton. Plus, we'll guarantee our metal will produce a waste factor of 15% or less, and we'll replace any wasted coverage, free. One last point, Mr. Prospect. It could be important. We'll furnish you with 50; 20-gauge titanium rivets and cap assemblies free with every 10 tons of steel you order this month. May I have your order?"

Throughout the sales pitch, your sales reps should refer to the USP benefits or advantages.

Don't try and merely have your salespeople "wing it”. Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP in 60 seconds (the oral equiv

How do you get your business differentiated? By creating a Unique Selling Proposition - or USP.

A USP is that distinct and appealing idea that sets you and your business, or practice, favorably apart from every other generic competitor. The long-term marketing and operational successes I help you achieve will, ultimately, be helped or hurt by the USP you decide upon.

The possibilities for building a USP are unlimited. It's best, however, to adopt a USP that dynamically addresses an obvious void in the marketplace that you can honestly fill. Beware: It's actually counter-productive to adopt a USP if you cannot fulfill the promise.

It's no surprise then that most HVAC businesses, lacking a USP, merely get by. Their failure rate is high, their owners are apathetic, and they get only a small share of the potential business. But other than a possible convenient location, why should they get much patronage if they fail to offer any appealing promise, unique feature or special service?

Would you want to patronize a firm that's just "there," with no unique benefit, no incredible prices, no especially comforting counsel or guarantee? Or would you prefer a firm that offers you the broadest selection in the country? Or one with every item marked up less than half the margin other competitors charge?

The point is to focus on the one niche, need or gap that is most sorely lacking, provided you can keep the promise you make!

You can even create hybrid USPs - combinations that integrate one marketing gap with another. Before you decide on a USP, though, be sure you can always deliver that USP through your organization.

If you decide your USP is that your company offers the broadest selection of products or services "instantly available" or "always in stock," but in reality you stock six out of 25 items and only a few of each item, then you're falling down on the essence of your USP, and your marketing will probably fail.

If you don't honestly believe you can deliver on your USP, pick another one to build your business on. Just be sure it's unique and that you can fulfill it.

Remember, the USP is the nucleus around which you will build your success, fame, and wealth, so you better be able to state it. Whenever a customer needs the type of product or service you sell, your USP should bring your company immediately to mind. Also you must reduce your USP to its sinewy bare essence.

Try It. With paper and pen, prepare a one-paragraph statement of your new USP. Ruthlessly edit away the generalities, and tenaciously focus on the crispest, clearest, most specific promise you could possibly hold out. Then, rework it and hack away the excess verbiage until you have a clearly apparent Unique Selling Proposition a customer can immediately seize upon. And then, integrate your USP into every marketing aspect of your business.

Let's say you run display-type ads, and your USP is that you have better selection and follow-up service than any other competitor. There are several ways to integrate these qualities into your ads. For example: State the selection USP in the ad headline: "We Always Have 168 different Widgets in No Less than 12 Different Sizes and 10 Desirable Colors, in price ranges from $6 to $600."

Or, if good service at an affordable price is your USP, use this as a model: "ABC Tree Trimmers will trim and maintain your trees and shrubs six times a year, once every two months, and all it costs you is $16 a month, billed quarterly."

By now you should have the general idea that how important your USP is and you need to carefully integrate it into the headline and body copy of every ad you run. And in every direct-mail piece you send out.

When your salespeople call on prospects, everything they say should clearly reinforce your USP. They should explain the USP to the customer in a clear, concise statement. For example:

"Hello, Mr. Prospect. I know your time is short, so I'll get right to the point. Your company manufactures widgets. You buy steel and copper from a competitor. You're currently paying $100 a ton for steel and $75 a ton for copper, of which you waste roughly 25%. My firm will sell you a higher grade steel and a higher alloy copper for $95 and $69 a ton, respectively, freight prepaid, which saves you an extra $3 a ton. Plus, we'll guarantee our metal will produce a waste factor of 15% or less, and we'll replace any wasted coverage, free. One last point, Mr. Prospect. It could be important. We'll furnish you with 50; 20-gauge titanium rivets and cap assemblies free with every 10 tons of steel you order this month. May I have your order?"

Throughout the sales pitch, your sales reps should refer to the USP benefits or advantages.

Don't try and merely have your salespeople "wing it”. Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP in 60 seconds (the oral equiv

Would you want to patronize a firm that's just "there," with no unique benefit, no incredible prices, no especially comforting counsel or guarantee? Or would you prefer a firm that offers you the broadest selection in the country? Or one with every item marked up less than half the margin other competitors charge?

The point is to focus on the one niche, need or gap that is most sorely lacking, provided you can keep the promise you make!

You can even create hybrid USPs - combinations that integrate one marketing gap with another. Before you decide on a USP, though, be sure you can always deliver that USP through your organization.

If you decide your USP is that your company offers the broadest selection of products or services "instantly available" or "always in stock," but in reality you stock six out of 25 items and only a few of each item, then you're falling down on the essence of your USP, and your marketing will probably fail.

If you don't honestly believe you can deliver on your USP, pick another one to build your business on. Just be sure it's unique and that you can fulfill it.

Remember, the USP is the nucleus around which you will build your success, fame, and wealth, so you better be able to state it. Whenever a customer needs the type of product or service you sell, your USP should bring your company immediately to mind. Also you must reduce your USP to its sinewy bare essence.

Try It. With paper and pen, prepare a one-paragraph statement of your new USP. Ruthlessly edit away the generalities, and tenaciously focus on the crispest, clearest, most specific promise you could possibly hold out. Then, rework it and hack away the excess verbiage until you have a clearly apparent Unique Selling Proposition a customer can immediately seize upon. And then, integrate your USP into every marketing aspect of your business.

Let's say you run display-type ads, and your USP is that you have better selection and follow-up service than any other competitor. There are several ways to integrate these qualities into your ads. For example: State the selection USP in the ad headline: "We Always Have 168 different Widgets in No Less than 12 Different Sizes and 10 Desirable Colors, in price ranges from $6 to $600."

Or, if good service at an affordable price is your USP, use this as a model: "ABC Tree Trimmers will trim and maintain your trees and shrubs six times a year, once every two months, and all it costs you is $16 a month, billed quarterly."

By now you should have the general idea that how important your USP is and you need to carefully integrate it into the headline and body copy of every ad you run. And in every direct-mail piece you send out.

When your salespeople call on prospects, everything they say should clearly reinforce your USP. They should explain the USP to the customer in a clear, concise statement. For example:

"Hello, Mr. Prospect. I know your time is short, so I'll get right to the point. Your company manufactures widgets. You buy steel and copper from a competitor. You're currently paying $100 a ton for steel and $75 a ton for copper, of which you waste roughly 25%. My firm will sell you a higher grade steel and a higher alloy copper for $95 and $69 a ton, respectively, freight prepaid, which saves you an extra $3 a ton. Plus, we'll guarantee our metal will produce a waste factor of 15% or less, and we'll replace any wasted coverage, free. One last point, Mr. Prospect. It could be important. We'll furnish you with 50; 20-gauge titanium rivets and cap assemblies free with every 10 tons of steel you order this month. May I have your order?"

Throughout the sales pitch, your sales reps should refer to the USP benefits or advantages.

Don't try and merely have your salespeople "wing it”. Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP in 60 seconds (the oral equiv

If you don't honestly believe you can deliver on your USP, pick another one to build your business on. Just be sure it's unique and that you can fulfill it.

Remember, the USP is the nucleus around which you will build your success, fame, and wealth, so you better be able to state it. Whenever a customer needs the type of product or service you sell, your USP should bring your company immediately to mind. Also you must reduce your USP to its sinewy bare essence.

Try It. With paper and pen, prepare a one-paragraph statement of your new USP. Ruthlessly edit away the generalities, and tenaciously focus on the crispest, clearest, most specific promise you could possibly hold out. Then, rework it and hack away the excess verbiage until you have a clearly apparent Unique Selling Proposition a customer can immediately seize upon. And then, integrate your USP into every marketing aspect of your business.

Let's say you run display-type ads, and your USP is that you have better selection and follow-up service than any other competitor. There are several ways to integrate these qualities into your ads. For example: State the selection USP in the ad headline: "We Always Have 168 different Widgets in No Less than 12 Different Sizes and 10 Desirable Colors, in price ranges from $6 to $600."

Or, if good service at an affordable price is your USP, use this as a model: "ABC Tree Trimmers will trim and maintain your trees and shrubs six times a year, once every two months, and all it costs you is $16 a month, billed quarterly."

By now you should have the general idea that how important your USP is and you need to carefully integrate it into the headline and body copy of every ad you run. And in every direct-mail piece you send out.

When your salespeople call on prospects, everything they say should clearly reinforce your USP. They should explain the USP to the customer in a clear, concise statement. For example:

"Hello, Mr. Prospect. I know your time is short, so I'll get right to the point. Your company manufactures widgets. You buy steel and copper from a competitor. You're currently paying $100 a ton for steel and $75 a ton for copper, of which you waste roughly 25%. My firm will sell you a higher grade steel and a higher alloy copper for $95 and $69 a ton, respectively, freight prepaid, which saves you an extra $3 a ton. Plus, we'll guarantee our metal will produce a waste factor of 15% or less, and we'll replace any wasted coverage, free. One last point, Mr. Prospect. It could be important. We'll furnish you with 50; 20-gauge titanium rivets and cap assemblies free with every 10 tons of steel you order this month. May I have your order?"

Throughout the sales pitch, your sales reps should refer to the USP benefits or advantages.

Don't try and merely have your salespeople "wing it”. Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP in 60 seconds (the oral equiv

Let's say you run display-type ads, and your USP is that you have better selection and follow-up service than any other competitor. There are several ways to integrate these qualities into your ads. For example: State the selection USP in the ad headline: "We Always Have 168 different Widgets in No Less than 12 Different Sizes and 10 Desirable Colors, in price ranges from $6 to $600."

Or, if good service at an affordable price is your USP, use this as a model: "ABC Tree Trimmers will trim and maintain your trees and shrubs six times a year, once every two months, and all it costs you is $16 a month, billed quarterly."

By now you should have the general idea that how important your USP is and you need to carefully integrate it into the headline and body copy of every ad you run. And in every direct-mail piece you send out.

When your salespeople call on prospects, everything they say should clearly reinforce your USP. They should explain the USP to the customer in a clear, concise statement. For example:

"Hello, Mr. Prospect. I know your time is short, so I'll get right to the point. Your company manufactures widgets. You buy steel and copper from a competitor. You're currently paying $100 a ton for steel and $75 a ton for copper, of which you waste roughly 25%. My firm will sell you a higher grade steel and a higher alloy copper for $95 and $69 a ton, respectively, freight prepaid, which saves you an extra $3 a ton. Plus, we'll guarantee our metal will produce a waste factor of 15% or less, and we'll replace any wasted coverage, free. One last point, Mr. Prospect. It could be important. We'll furnish you with 50; 20-gauge titanium rivets and cap assemblies free with every 10 tons of steel you order this month. May I have your order?"

Throughout the sales pitch, your sales reps should refer to the USP benefits or advantages.

Don't try and merely have your salespeople "wing it”. Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP in 60 seconds (the oral equiv

"Hello, Mr. Prospect. I know your time is short, so I'll get right to the point. Your company manufactures widgets. You buy steel and copper from a competitor. You're currently paying $100 a ton for steel and $75 a ton for copper, of which you waste roughly 25%. My firm will sell you a higher grade steel and a higher alloy copper for $95 and $69 a ton, respectively, freight prepaid, which saves you an extra $3 a ton. Plus, we'll guarantee our metal will produce a waste factor of 15% or less, and we'll replace any wasted coverage, free. One last point, Mr. Prospect. It could be important. We'll furnish you with 50; 20-gauge titanium rivets and cap assemblies free with every 10 tons of steel you order this month. May I have your order?"

Throughout the sales pitch, your sales reps should refer to the USP benefits or advantages.

Don't try and merely have your salespeople "wing it”. Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP in 60 seconds (the oral equivalent of a written paragraph), and then compellingly state how it benefits the prospect.

When an old, tired company or profession adopts a powerful, new, and appealing USP, it gives new life, new excitement, new interest and new appeal to the marketing plan. You're suddenly different, instead of just being another interloper preying on customers you've trapped into hearing your sales pitch! Now you're on the customer's side.

Don't forget my earlier advice. Don't adopt a USP that you can't deliver. Also, analyze the market potential of various USP positions in terms of volume, profits and repeat business.

For example, the highest marketing niche may be in the exclusive, expensive USP, but the biggest money may be made in the discount-volume USP. There's a place for both, but if you try to ride two horses, you'll probably bite the dust. Remember too, that your USP is giving advice, assistance and superior service; it can't stop with mere sales rhetoric.

Sit down and write a synopsis of your USP for your staff, how you're trying to carry it out. The entire company must adhere to the USP. Talk to your staff, write scripts, hold contests, and reward people who distinguish themselves in promoting your USP. Set an example so that your staff can see the USP in action.

How can you ensure that you are in the hearts and minds of your customers after the sale? Here are a few good approaches:

Immediately following a sale, write, call or visit your customers. During this follow-up effort, see that the customers feel important and special, and that their initial purchases are "resold." Repeat your USP and remind the customers how it helped them make their purchasing decision. Reassure customers about their wise decisions.

A post-purchase follow-up incorporating the essence of your USP is vital, regardless of how frequently you "back-end" or resell to that customer. You enhance the customer's loyalty and value to your business by following up after the sale

Good marketing requires that you give customers rational reasons for their emotional buying decision. There is a formula for success, and the USP, my dear friends, is truly an integral part of that formula.

Depending on the business offer frequent special promotions to your customers by mail, telephone or in person. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and personally acknowledged. By offering specially priced deals or first choice, you endear yourself to them. At the same time, you enhance your customers' perception of your Unique Selling Proposition.

If your USP is service, your preferred promotions will be service-based rather than price-based. Give them extended service -- for instance, a special offer of your basic service, or one year of free consulting or assistance not normally given.

Also, don't underestimate the profit potential inherent in special offers. Acquiring first-time customers usually costs a small fortune. Space ads have to reach tens of thousands of readers to produce a few hundred customers, so it may cost you $10 or more to acquire a customer.

But once you satisfactorily deliver your product or service and have a core customer base, you can continuously rework and resell at a very modest cost per sale. When you have a list of customers who have already shown their willingness to spend money on your products or services, it costs very little to go to them with additional special offers.

If you have 10,000 customers, it will probably cost $3,000 to mail them a letter. (At best, that same $3,000 for display advertising would probably generate only 100 new customers at a cost of $30 per customer.) Calling all 10,000 prospects on the phone would take five telephone sales people about a month. If they were on salary, that might cost you about $10,000 (for that month) or only about $1.00 a contact.

If broad choice is your USP, have a customer-service representative contact your customers to see if everything is satisfactory. If everything is not, offer to replace, repair or correct the product or service. Your customer-service people should know just as