With all of the problems facing the investment community today the last thing you need is a "me too" image; to be viewed as a commodity, no different than anyone else.

Financial advisors and investment professionals are quickly becoming a commodity in today's business environment.  Ask yourself honestly, why should anyone invest his or her hard earned dollars with me rather than some other investment professional in the community?

The answer is because of your USP.  A USP or (Unique Sales Proposition) is your weapon in the war to distinguish yourself from the crowd.  But how do you do this?  Creating a successful USP is no easy task.  It takes time and thoughtful preparation.

The first thing you need to do is define your target market.  Only by precisely defining your target can you begin to develop a marketing program aimed at that target.  We discussed this in our previous article: Why Define Your Target Market.

We recently devoted an entire week of our Top Producers Club program to helping our members develop their own personal USP.  I will outline the details of this section here.  If you’re interested in more in-depth information please contact us.

Creating A USP
Here are three USP's that literally built business empires.  They demonstrate the importance of well thought out sales propositions.

“Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed”
“When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”
“Leaves your breath smelling minty fresh”

I’m willing to bet you could name the companies who developed these USP’s.  Just like these, your USP must deliver a tangible BENEFIT/OUTCOME.  It must also be SPECIFIC and to the point.  It must be YOURS alone.  And your USP should be fairly SHORT.  You want people to be able to remember your USP.

If you look and sound the same as everyone else, you have no competitive advantage.  And with no competitive advantage your prospect has no reason to distinguish you from the crowd.  This is not the position you want to be in.

You need to SPECIALIZE and be PERCEIVED as being different and unique.  The key word being perceived.  Maybe you only offer standard products and services like everyone else.  That’s fine.  But you can frame this in such a way that you’re perceived as being different.  So when a prospect sees your ad or calls you on the phone, you stand out.

The Investment Community is burdened with a multitude of problems today; lack of price control, discounted competition and negative public perception to name a few.  In order to successfully compete you need to be different and distinctive.

You need to stand out from the crowd of "me-too’s" and be somebody who is uncommon even offbeat.  Your USP is the answer to this need.  Don’t underestimate its importance to your success.