Develop Your USA
Be Unique
By Tony Cole, CLO of Anthony Cole Training Group
In our sales training classes, we spend a great deal of time on the appropriate “attitude” required to be successful in selling. With the right attitude, you can count on consistently executing the required conduct and sales techniques to be successful. I once heard another sales development expert explain that “sales technique is just a change in language. You already have a sales language; it just may not be as effective as it could be.”
Today’s sales technique lesson: Be unique.
You have your elevator speech, 15-second commercial, value proposition, positioning statement, etc. It doesn’t matter what you call it. The concept is this: have a concise way to describe to someone what you do when you first meet them. Here’s the problem- everyone in selling has been taught the elevator speech, the 15-second commercial, the value proposition and the positioning statement. You know it’s supposed to describe what you do:
“I help companies like yours manage their insurance risk.”
“I sell customized clothing to busy executives.”
“I own a CPA and tax consulting practice specializing in the needs of companies that generate between 5 and 10 million dollars in revenue”.
Sound familiar? That’s the problem. There is nothing unique about the approach from any one of these statements. Here’s the rule about today’s concept:
What you say should cause the person with whom you are talking to respond either verbally or mentally in one of three ways. You have to give the prospect a compelling reason to keep listening. When you deliver whatever it is, they should respond with/think either:
- “That’s me”.
- “How do you do that?”
- “Tell me more.”
Examples:
Insurance: “I provide people buckets of money in the right amount, at the right cost and at the right time.” (How do you do that?)
Banking: “My clients are companies that discovered that working with a bank should be more than just a place to get money or leave money.” (Tell me more.)
Accounting: “I’m in the business of helping small businesses that are sick and tired of sending the government more money and keeping less.” (That’s me!)
The idea is to think about the people/companies that have chosen to do business with you and why they buy the product/service that they did. What was the problem that they wanted to go away or solve? What benefit were they looking for that they weren’t getting? Take that information and create your “unique sales approach” (USA).
The technique: Before you deliver your USA, you may want to start by telling the person that you are talking to that it is easier to describe what you do by asking a couple of questions. “In a nut shell, what I do is…(deliver your USA)” and close by asking, “May I ask you a question?”
Our number one rule that we teach all of our clients is “don’t act, look or sound like any other salesperson”. By delivering an effective USA and asking relevant qualifying questions, you will set yourself apart from the competition.
Don’t be afraid to be uniquely you!
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