Are you selling a product or a service? If you are, then you know that having a selling proposition will make an impact and ultimately make the sale.
However, it is not enough to just have a selling proposition. It needs to be enticing. It needs to be original and clever. And most importantly, the message needs to hit home.
So it should not just be a selling point but a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is what your business stands for.
One of the things we always tell our clients at Step Change is that they can’t be everything to everyone. By having one strong USP, your business gets to occupy a unique place in your audience’s mind, and you can focus all your efforts on creating products and services that your customers would actually love.
Have you ever noticed how people become more serious at the beginning of September? Gone are the lazy days of summer and in front of us are four months before year-end. People develop what I call the “back-to-school mentality.” I see it as much among adults as I do among students. In the corporate world, vacations are finished, meetings that didn’t happen over the summer are now on the calendar and decisions are being made.
Why are corporate people more serious during the last four months of the year? Here are a few reasons. Executive decision makers have until year-end to make things happen before their reviews. Not only do they need to complete initiatives on their list to receive bonuses and great scores, but also, those looking for promotions must showcase themselves to management. Further, many decision-makers have to use their annual budgets before they lose their annual budgets.
What does this mean for business owners and salespeople? Opportunity! Below are five ways captured sales opportunities while helping corporate decision-makers achieve their goals.
Streaming music services, such as Spotify or Apple music, have reshaped the way we consume music. Never before could we carry millions of songs in our back pockets and match playlists to our mood, at any time we desire. This great experience in personal music consumption triggers an important misconception among entrepreneurs looking for instore music though: “If Spotify/Apple music works so well in my personal life, why not use it in my shop, bar, restaurant or other business venue?” In this article, we provide a number of reasons why you should not. Both from a legal and a marketing perspective.
Reason 1: It is illegal
Whenever a business distributes music, it is obligated to pay mechanical rights. These are fees due the rights holders, as compensation for the fact that their creations are duplicated. Before streaming, these were physical, mechanical copies. Hence the term mechanical rights. The fees are much lower when the copies are intended for personal use as opposed to public use, such as instore music. Spotify and Apple music only cover these rights for personal use, so the music is not suited for public use. Furthermore, article 4 of Spotify’s own user agreement clearly states that only personal use is permitted. The reason is that Spotify’s deal with the major labels does not include commercial use.
At some point, every entrepreneur needs to write copy for his or her company’s website, sales pitches, blogs, and other marketing materials. It’s at this moment when you have a decision to make. Do you choose to write your own copy or hire a professional writer to do the heavy lifting? While there’s a case to be made for both sides, most successful entrepreneurs have found that it’s far better to hire a copywriter.
4 Reasons to Hire a Writer
From a business perspective, there are so many different costs associated with keeping your operation up and running. It can be tempting to try and bring some tasks in-house in order to save a little money. However, copywriting isn’t something you can afford to jeopardize.
By Ian Altman, an internationally respected and sought-after expert on business.
Often businesses employ a sales and marketing strategy in which they try to cast a wide net, in an effort to not miss anyone. But by casting a wide net, it is easy to forget that the real goal of sales and marketing is to attract the best potential customers, not just anyone with a pulse. In business-to-business sales and marketing, focusing on the number of leads or prospects is misleading—and likely attracts prospects that are a waste of your time.
Start attracting the best potential clients and valid sales opportunities to grow your business. Here’s how.
Regardless of the type of business you’ve decided to start or the industry you happen to be operating in, much of your success will come down less to any one major decision and more to those smaller but meaningful ones. This is why your priority at any given time is never “Begin a successful business.” Rather, your goals involve carefully navigating the different phases in the lifecycle of a startup in order to slowly but confidently move from idea to execution—startup to established business.
The types of decisions that you’ll be making in the seed and development phase of your business are very different from the ones you’ll be focused on during expansion or even maturity. You’re not trying to conquer the industry at the start: You’re trying to play to the strengths of your current stage so you can safely and effectively move to the next one, and so on. In many ways, the same is true of your marketing efforts.
I’m a lucky guy. I tricked a beautiful, caring woman into marrying me; my three kids are healthy and often well-behaved; and most of my businesses have been successful, affording me a great lifestyle. But all of this luck leads me to one constantly nagging fear— that the trappings of this great life will yield unbalanced, bratty children who will grow up to become knuckleheads.
In all corners of the world, entrepreneurs are playing an integral role in the development of communities, economies and industries. And it all starts with engagement. For Rosemary Tan, a member of EO Malaysia and EO’s former Global Chairman, the art of engaging has helped her find success and significance in business and beyond. In this featured interview, Rosemary shares the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial journey, the value of EO leadership and how through engagement, she continues to find new value in herself, her business and her life.
Your family has played—and continues to play—a major role in your life, encouraging you to get the most out of everything you do. How have they contributed to your success?
RT: I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for my family. I am the oldest of six siblings, and am blessed to have everyone so close by; we stay in touch regularly and meet every Sunday for a three-generation dinner. My grandma taught me how to seize every opportunity and ‘taste’ everything in life at least once. My dad, who was a successful entrepreneur, taught me the value of hard work and that experience is the best MBA you can get. And my mom, who’s a paraplegic, taught me the power of perspective and to always lend a helping hand. I am truly blessed for the strong foundation my family has given me, as well as the many lessons they’ve provided over the years. My family inspires me to engage the world every day to see what it has in store.
Mindset is everything. In this video, Jason Forrest, an EO Fort Worth member and Chief Sales Officer for Forrest Performance Group, challenges the mindset of “loser millennials.” He offers mindset and behavior changes to unleash this generation’s potential: Change how you see millennials. Understand what drives millennials (they desire to be coached, inspired, and part of a team). Tap into their whys to access their strengths. When you change the way you see millennials, millennials change (along with your results).