Unique Sales Proposition | Penoyer Communications

Why Are They Bashing Elevator Pitches?

Prospecting, unique sales proposition 4 Responses »

Jan 232011

This post is the by product of a discussion on LinkedIn. I give the reference latter in the post for those wishing to read this interesting conversation.

I have to say I totally disagree with all this bashing of “elevator pitches.” Please keep in mind this is my two cents and personal opinion. I respect all that has been stated on this subject though I may not agree.

The basis for bashing is not based in fact, but in a mystic that has been created by hype about how terrible these pitches are.

A true elevator pitch is simply a statement used in prospecting of what someone does. It could be as simple as “I help shoe companies increase their distribution.”

Now I ask you how is that in any way “phony” or “pitching?” Are you telling me that you are not going to reveal what it is you do to the person you’re talking with? Of course you are.

Great elevator pitches are not so simple but use what is known as a “unique selling proposition. (USP)” I feel obligated to define this term as few really know what it means.

A USP is a unique statement of the benefit one can provide. It is a statement with the purpose of engaging the prospect by making them feel they’d be crazy to buy from anyone else regardless of price. It must be free of platitudes and statements of things that the prospect would expect (We fix it right the first time), and it cannot be something your competitor could say. Otherwise it’s not a USP. (For those interested

I highly recommend Richard Hershaw’s book Monopolize Your Marketplace as a reference on this subject and how to create a powerful and compelling description of your business.

Example

I help shoe companies improve their distribution and our benchmarks show that companies that use our program get an average of 15-19 percent increase in distribution over the first two quarters — 8% above any other program tested.

This is a USP and a powerful elevator pitch. What shoe company executive is going to ignore the fact that the average result is 15+% increase and 8% better than the competition? Few! They are going to engage you.

There is nothing pitchy about this statement which is likely to do more for opening a dialog than the so called “meaningful conversations” — which in all discussions such as this are NEVER defined.

I would also disagree that what you say before or after the elevator pitch is more important. If you are giving such a pitch, your are in fact trying to engage the prospect. The best and most powerful way to engage a prospect is to show that you can provide value — NOT say you can provide it — show it. If you are unsuccessful you won’t get to say anymore! What do you think is more important than engaging the prospect?

The statistics above do exactly that. I think the example you gave (See the LnkedIn Question: “Let’s be honest about elevator speeches! for the example I refer to. It is in the clarification to the question in paragraph 3) fails to provide evidence of a benefit beyond your say so. Except for the trademarked name of the product every one of your competitors could use the same statement. I don’t think that statement differentiates you from anyone else. The statement above certainly does.

Besides your name and hello this would be the first thing out of your mouth and the basis for any continued conversation or a return call if left as a message.

We don’t need to move from pitching people, we need to move from doing it badly!!

I would obviously agree that having a referral is an advantage. But only if the referral has talked to the prospect about me. Otherwise it won’t carry much weight until you establish value. And even in that case all that I have suggested is still valid.

I would add as a footnote this is one of the biggest problems in selling. People are not skilled. Most sales people have never pursued the definition and study of USPs, or studied communication skills, or even read the major works on selling.

It is not the selling or sales theory that is bad — its the lack of real skills by the users.

The Long Forgotten Unique Selling Proposition

Cold Calling, Prospecting, unique sales proposition No Responses »

Aug 102009

I have made a most interesting discovery. Most salespeople don’t really know what a unique selling proposition is. In fact, most companies don’t seem to know. This sounds incredible but it appears to be true.

Since the unique selling proposition is a critical aspect of selling not to mention selling on the phone, I though I would share some information on unique selling propositions that will help you sell more.

Before I begin let me recommend a book that I recommend all the time and in my book lists to salespeople. (See the recommended reading section of my free sales resources page.). The book is called “Monopolize Your Marketplace” by Richard Harshaw. In this book, as well as Jay Abraham’s “Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got,” you can learn all about unique selling propositions and how to tell a powerful story that will hook prospects.

What is a Unique Selling Proposition?

Before I reveal the secrets of the unique selling proposition let me ask you to write yours down on a piece of paper. Then you can go through the exercise with me as I lay this out.

A unique selling proposition according to Hershaw should make the prospect feel, and I quote from page 21 of his book:

“I would have to be an absolute fool to do business with anyone else but you – regardless of price.”

As you can see a good unique selling proposition has to be pretty darn powerful. Most of the propositions you hear aren’t propositions at all but platitudes.

What’s a platitude? A platitude is something that is stated as if it were important or unique when in fact it is not. Here are some examples.

“We fix your car right the first time.”

Why is this a platitude? Because anyone getting their car fixed would expect this to be the case. No one is going to the guy who says – “We fix it right the second time.” This is a “Well I would hope so” platitude.

And that is the first test of a good unique selling proposition – Would a normal person looking for your product or service simply expect as common what you claim.

Here’s another example of “I would hope so.”

“We give you a free consultation visit.”

This is a common benefit stated in ads for lawyers – but everyone does it so it is expected anyway. It’s a platitude.

Look at your selling proposition, is it a “Well I would hope so?”

The second platitude is “Who else can say that?” If someone else can say what you said, then it’s not and unique selling proposition as it’s not unique.

If you say “Were the best in town.” you very well might be, but any other company could simply make the same claim. If your competition can say with confidence based on their belief what you are saying, it’s not a unique selling proposition.

It’s not about who can do what you do, but about who can say what you say.

A great example of all of this is found by looking in the phone book at say lawyers. In most cases you could switch the names and phone numbers between the ads (as long as you kept with in the specialties) and the claims would be true or at least legitimate. There are very few unique selling propositions in the phone book, most of the ads contain platitudes instead.

Summary

Now that you have a better understanding of what a unique selling proposition really is you can see why having one will likely generate call backs to your messages in your cold calling efforts and get the attention of those you engage on the phone.