Relationship Selling: How To Stand Out From The Crowd
Relationship Selling is really all about building solid, good relationships so that trust, credibility and integrity can be garnered and maintained enabling customer retention and repeat business. Relationship building can only start when a customer/prospect has made the decision to work with you. What can you offer as a small business owner that will separate you from the other hungry businesses clamoring for your customer/prospect’s attention?
Develop a Unique Selling Proposition.
Now, in order to develop a Unique Selling Proposition one must first understand the definition of a Unique Selling Proposition, or, USP (the acronym).
A Unique Selling Proposition is really just what the title says: it is unique in that it is an offer/service that makes you stand out from competition and helps others perceive this offer/service as “different” from the rest. Relationship Selling principles help build a good solid relationship but your USP takes it one step further and gives them a reason to buy from you. Some things to consider when developing your USP:
1. What service or product can you offer as a small business startup or business professional that your competition is not offering?
2. What is it that you can do for your customer/prospect that your competitor won’t?
3. How do you plan on differentiating yourself from your competition?
Start out by first making a list of all of the differences or USP’s your company will offer and then make a list of the product/service your offer as the solution (solid proof). Your ability to stand out from the crowd will be the basis of decision making for your customer/prospect.
When it comes down to decision making time, a customer/prospect will be looking for the unique strengths you offer them when comparing the two. After all a pizza is a pizza but what makes you go to one pizza shop over another. Relate it back to your own life. For myself, I buy my gas at a local gas station all the time. There are dozens, probably more in a one mile stretch on my main road. But why do I go to “Get-Go”? Because they offer a discount on my groceries based on the number of gallons I put into my car. This is a perfect example of a USP.
When developing your USP it is important to note that your solution or USP may not be suitable for all customers/prospects. That is o.k. What stands out for one client may not stand out for another. But this is the targeted audience you are attracting and the ones who will see your offer/service as the scale tipping factor.
With the amount of competition out there, it is crucial that you develop your USP BEFORE starting into your sales process..
Your customer/prospect is trying to make a decision about purchasing from you as opposed to someone else and more than likely, they have been shopping around looking at the competition so it is very important that you can present your uniqueness in a way that allows your customer/prospect to overcome their obstacles; whether they be price, location; it really doesn’t matter if you’ve done your homework properly up front none of these should be an obstacle in the final decision making process.
The competition is fierce out there. Relationship Selling is about building relationships and developing a Unique Selling Proposition is just one more step in separating you from your competition.