I received a call from a potential customer. He blurted out, "I am buying auto insurance from someone today. I am checking with several of your competitors. You have two minutes to convince me that I should do business with you. GO!"
True story. Now imagine yourself in that position. I immediately starting spitting out the features of our business that make us unique.
I said, "My agency will contact you every year to review your coverage's. Our goal is to see that you never have a surprise at claim time and that you always get the discounts that you are eligible for."
I enthusiastically continued, "We are open 6 days a week. There are eight full-time licensed agents with over 75 years cumulative experience. I can assure you that when you call, the person that answers the phone will be knowledgeable and will drop everything to take care of you immediately."
I won't bore you with the rest of the details. I used my entire two minutes. When I was through the gentlemen was genuinely speechless. Needless to say, we got the business.
Seldom will you have someone be so blunt with their desire to have you articulate your uniqueness. We should be prepared to proactively offer that information to customers and prospects. Do not wait for them to ask.
I desire to have my business on autopilot which requires three characteristics:
A business with a clear vision has a clear understanding of what components are necessary to attract the ideal prospect. b
Here is the bitter truth:
*If I can not articulate what makes my business unique neither will my employees
*If my employees can not articulate what makes our business unique, customers and prospects will not see it
*If customers can not articulate what makes our business unique, there is zero chance of them referring others to us
The reason I was able to immediately and concisely communicate our Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is because we had spent time thinking about a vision of exactly what would make our business unique. We had the list IN WRITING.
When the call came in I was able to pull out my "Top 10 Reasons To Do Business with the Pinnacle Agency" and read them with conviction. We provide this form to every new customer to remind us to communicate what makes us unique. We also remind existing customers frequently of those items listed.
Does your business have a clear picture of what makes your company distinct? Have you communicated what differentiates your organization in writing? Does your operation consistently follow through with the promises made?
I am convinced that several thousand brains from many different industries will come up with a better solution than I could by myself. Please do me a favor…E-mail me your thoughts on what makes a business unique (laura@lauraharris.com). I will compile a list of the ideas and forward it in a future issue.
Please pass this e-mail to other business owners and/or employees, regardless of their industry. Contractors, accountants, landscapers, can benefit from this exercise and if they sign up for my newsletters (www.lauraharris.com), they will receive the ideas of thousands of others. The newsletters will always be practical information for anyone working in a small business and, of course, they are free.