Tip #3 on How to Develop a Strong USP – Unique Selling Proposition

Tip #3 on How to Develop a Strong USP: Be More Funny = Make More Money

“I learned that when I made people laugh, they liked me. This is a lesson I never forgot.” – Art Buchwald

Many entrepreneurs think their USP needs to be serious.

Not always.

As Art Buchwald learned, we like people (and businesses) who makes us laugh.

One way to stand out from your crowd is to get a chuckle.

Read your signage, webpages, advertising copy and marketing material.

Does any of it make people smile? If not, you could be passing up profitable opportunities to win buy-in from customers and decision-makers.

The highest-rated and most memorable Super Bowl ads are almost always the ones that get a laugh. Inject purposeful humor into your marketing material and you can turn smiles into sales.

For example, Coca-Cola won millions of new customers with their ad for Zero Coke that said, “Tastes so much like Coke, our lawyers have contacted our lawyers.”

Denver calls their wildly popular Halloween event Boo at the Zoo.

A website for pocket-protector types is called “Geek2Geek.com” and offers profiles like “Tall, Dork and Handsome.”

One reason popular online shoe retailer Zappos broke out was their smile-inducing ads that said, “You know those salespeople who ignore you when you want to try on or buy a pair of shoes? They don’t work here.”

Is your business holding a sale? Don’t be content to put up a boring sign that will get ignored. Advertise, “50% off — and that’s just the half of it.”

A local ice cream store that feaured square containers received a lot of questions about why they had square containers instead of round ones. They got some free smiles by putting up a sign that said, “Why do we have square ice cream containers? Because we don’t cut corners on the quality of our ice cream.”

One purpose of a USP – Unique Selling Proposition – is to give customes a compelling reason to choose you over your competitors. When people like you – which humor causes them to do – they are more likely to do business with you.

What are some of your favorite funny ads, commercials or marketing slogans?

I will feature the best entries in upcoming blogs. Whoever submits the best one receives an autographed copy of POP!

 

Who Puts the Boo in Books? A Halloween Blog on How to Feed Kids’ Creativity, not their Cavities

15 years ago, Rebecca Morgan was passing out candy to kids on Halloween when she had a better idea.

Why not pass out books instead of Baby Ruths?

An avid reader and many-time author of such non-fiction books as Calming Upset Customers which was featured on Oprah, Rebecca figured she rather feed kids’ creativity than their cavities.

She founded a program called Books for Treats which encourages people to give gently-read books to trick-or-treaters. Based in San Jose, CA, Rebecca and her team will be distributing 4000 already-enjoyed books to kids so they can discover that Harry Potter can be more satisfying than a Heath bar.

Libraries around the country are joining the effort by holding their own Books For Treats events, giving ready-to-be-recycled books to costumed library patrons on Halloween.

“I wanted to make a difference to the children in my community,” says Books for Treats founder Rebecca Morgan, “and thought it made sense to nourish children’s imagination with ‘brain candy.’ We separate the books into four grade-level boxes so each child can choose a book at their appropriate level.”

“At first, I was afraid some of the kids would be disappointed they got something to read instead of something to eat. But the look of wonder on their faces makes it all worthwhile. Many children have told me, “This is the first book I’ve ever ‘owned.’”

Why not start a new Halloween tradition this year? Look around the house and see if you have some books sitting on a shelf that could light up a young person’s life. Take advantage of this opportunity to introduce children to the wonderful world of reading.

For more information, visit www.booksfortreats.org.

 

YOOvolution: Imagine 33 World-Class Success Experts in 3 Days — Without Leaving Home

Imagine learning best-practice tips from T. Harv Eker, Brian Tracy, Les Brown, John Gray, Alex Mandossian, Alan Webber (Fast Company), Ryan Lee and Joe Sugarman on how to fast-forward the success of your personal and professional life . . .

You can do that Nov. 6-8 at YOOvolution – the first ever 3D Virtual Business Conference.

This fascinating online experience provides opportunities to connect with people from around the world while accelerating your effectiveness on and off the job.

Programs focus on how to:

* grow your business an in unpredictable economy
* use electronic marketing to generate ongoing passive income
* turn your passion into purpose and profits
* enrich your relationships
* catapult sales with innovative approaches that really work
* accomplish your goals – no matter what

I’ll be speaking on how to “Create an Elevator Intro that Opens Doors and Close Deals” which was one of the top-rated sessions at the ‘08 Inc. 500/5000 conference.

I’ll be revealing why many elevator speeches lose people at hello – and how you can craft an elevator intro that leads to meaningful conversations and connections.

Check out this unique opportunity – http://www.yoovolution.com/insider/index2.php

 

Tip #2 for Creating Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

Sam Horn’s Tip #2 for Creating Your USP:

POP! out of your Pack with an Easy-to-Say-and-Remember Name for Your Business, Brand, Product and Service

Have you ever burned your fingers on one of those really hot cups of coffee at Starbucks?

Do you put one of those “cardboard insulating sleeves” around the cup so your fingers won’t get burned?

If you were in that business, it’d be hard to stand out, wouldn’t it?

After all, people don’t really notice those carboard insulating sleeves; they all look alike.

Well, they may look alike but if you give your product an easy-to-say-and-remember name, it will help you POP! out of the pack.

That’s exactly what Jay Sorenson did. He created a multi-million dollar business by giving those common cardboard insulating sleeves a clever name – Java Jacket.

Sorenson says, “Java Jacket has such dominant market awareness, people who meant to call our competitors call us instead because they can’t remember our competitors name.”

That’s a profitable USP when people who meant to call your competitors call YOU instead because your name is top of mind.

Want to know how to create an easy-to-say-and-remember brand or business name that POP!s your USP?

Use alliteration.

Alliteration is when words start with the same sound. Alliteration makes our language lyrical and gives people’s mind a hook on which to hang a memory.

Test it out.

Say Dunkin Croissants. Best Purchase. Dirt Vacuum. Those words sound clunky, don’t they?

Now say Dunkin Doughnuts. Best Buy. Dirt Devil.

Hear how the alliteration makes those names easier-to-say-and remember?

If you are looking for a USP – Unique Selling Proposition – that helps your business, brand, product and service get noticed for all the right reasons — create an alliterative name that makes it easy to repeat and remember. It will keep YOU top-of-mind.

 

Identify Your USP by Doing the Opposite, Not the Obvious

Sam’s Horn’s Tip #1 for Identify Your USP:

Do the opposite, not the obvious.

Enterprise wanted to enter the crowded car rental industry but Hertz and Avis owned the majority of the market.

Hmmm…how can you compete with the “big boys?”

One way to distinguish yourself from competitors is to study them and ask what your competitors have in common . . . and then don’t do that!

What did the other car rental agencies have in common? They were all situated next to airports.

So, Enterprise located in neighborhoods.

Another way to identify a USP (unique selling proposition) is to ask yourself, “What don’t my competitors offer that customers want?”

Well, none of the car rental companies were offering door-to-door service.

So, Enterprise was first-to-market by offering to pick up and drop off customers from their home/hotel.

As a result of identifying two clear USP’s – two offerings none of their competitors could match — guess who is now the #1 car rental agency in the United States?

That’s right. Enterprise.

If you want to stand out from your crowd, lead it, don’t follow it.

One of the best ways to identify your USP is to innovate, not duplicate. Do the opposite, not the obvious.

 

6 Ways to Identify Your USP – Unique Selling Proposition

In a tough economy, it’s more important than ever to have a creative approach to help your business stand out from its crowd.

If you’re just competing on price, location, service or convenience, you’ll get lost in your crowd because competitors are doing the same thing.

What’s the secret to POPing out of your pack? Identify your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

How do you come up with your USP?

Ask yourself, “How can our company zig where our competitors zag? How can we do the opposite, not the obvious? Give your USP a clever name and people will flock to your door, website, or product. Plus, you’ll attract media attention because TV, radio and print reporters are always looking for the next new thing.

For example, a restaurant was losing money because no one was coming to their happy hour. Why? Well, there were dozens of restaurants in their area offering happy hours. That’s a prescription for blending in; and blending in is for Cuisinarts, not companies.

The restaurant manager kept looking for a competitive advantage, something customers wanted, but couldn’t find elsewhere (another way to identify your USP).

One evening, he saw a customer tie his dog up outside and then come in to join friends for a cold one.

Light bulb moment. Why not offer a special happy hour for dog-owners so they could bring their four-legged friend who had been cooped up all day? The restaurant could put out water bowls, hand out dog biscuits and offer a special discount for dog-owners who brought their canine pal. It was a win for everyone.

What to call this “petworking” opportunity?

Use a POP! technique called “Alphabetizing” in which you talk your key word through the alphabet to coin a brand new word that gets people’s attention. “Appy Hour, Bappy Hour, Cappy Hour, Dappy Hour” and eventually you get to “Yappy Hour!”

You may be thinking, “Big deal, so it’s a clever name.” You bet it’s a big deal. The Washington Post wrote an article about the throngs of people showing up for the Alexandria, VA Holiday Inn’s wildly popular (and profitable) “Yappy Hour.”

That article was picked up by hundreds of newspapers across the country. Now, millions of people know about their “Yappy Hour.” This nation-wide publicity generated a dramatic increase in name recognition and revenue . . . all for a few minutes of strategic brainstorming that helped them come up with a USP that made them one-of-a-kind vs. one-of-many.

If your business isn’t making as much money as it could or should, chances are you’re offering the same products/services as everyone else. As a creativity/communication consultant who’s studied the art and science of intrigue for 20 years, I’ve developed a step-by-step process for identifying a USP that gives you a competitive edge and gets your organization, idea, product or service noticed . . . for all the right reasons.

Check the next 6 blog posts to learn 6 more ways to POP! Your business and brand by identifying a creative, commercially-viable, competitive edge USP that breaks through busy people’s preoccupation and motivates them to try and buy what you’ve got to say or sell.

 

What are the Signs You’re Dealing with a Bully?

A bully is someone who intentionally abuses the rights of others to gain control.

Do you have someone in your life who seems to delight in making you miserable?

Have you tried everything to turn this situation around and nothing seems to help?

As explained in my previous post, you may be dealing with a bully. Bullies don’t want A win-win. They want TO win. Bullies don’t want cooperation, they want control.

Think of the challenging person who is mistreating you and ask yourself if he or she displays the following characteristics most of the time. If so, you’re dealing with a bonafide bully.

1. Pinpoints your weakness and uses them against you. Bullies have a talent for ferreting out your emotional Achilles Heel and hobbling you with it. If you don’t want to be considered selfish, they’ll call you selfish. If you’re unsure of your parenting or supervisory skills, they’ll attack your parenting skills or call you a bad leader. This is a classical Machiavellian method of preying on your weakness so you’re impotent (lacking power or strength) and they’re omnipotent (having unlimited influence or authority.) Their goal is to make you doubt yourself so you’re vulnerable to their attempts to intimidate you.

2. Plays martyr. Does he or she try to lay on the guilt trip by saying things like, “Go ahead and go out with your friends. I don’t mind. I mean, who wants to spend time with an old fogie like me anyway? I’m sure I’ll find something to do.” Does th is person play the long-suffering individual who’s unappreciated? Is it a common theme that s/he is the only one holding the office together and everyone else is frivolous, hedonistic, incompetent, or selfish?

3. Possessiveness. Someone who comes on strong and wants (or has!) to be with you constantly is showing a dangerous need to have you all to him or herself. Possessiveness is defined as “a desire to own or dominate.” Bullies often don’t have many (or any) friends of their own which means they grow to resent your other relationships. Does this person pout or try to make you feel guilty for abandoning him or her when you spend time with others? Bullies are so insecure they see everyone you spend time with as competition and as a threat to their dominance.

4. Holds you responsible for their moods. Does this person blame you for his or her unhappiness? If they’re sad, it’s because you didn’t ask about their day? If they’re depressed, it’s because you don’t take them anywhere anymore? If they’re angry, it’s because you said something that provoked them? There will be no pleasing this kind of person. They essentially haven’t grown up, and never will as long as they continue holding everyone else but themselves accountable for how they feel.

5. Perfectionist. Does this person nit-pick? Does he or she have such high standards no one ever measures up? Does this individual have to do things himself because anyone else would just “mess it up”? If you’re still in the honeymoon or courting phase, you may be temporarily exempt from this person’s unceasing criticism. In time though, their insistence on things being done a certain way (their way) will transfer to you and then you’ll never be able to do anything right. Jimmy Hoffa once said, “I may have my faults, but being wrong isn’t one of them.” Bullies won’t admit to any faults, least of all being wrong.

6. Hates to have authority questioned. Does this person take umbrage if you dare dispute his or her facts or opinions? Does s/he come across as a “know-it-all” who has to have all the answers? Bullies can’t stand to be challenged because they’re afraid their “power-house of cards” could come falling down. Their “my way or the highway” communication style is based on their need to be in control and beyond reproach.

If you disagree with this person, does he or she escalate their intensity in an effort to force you to concede? If so, it means that every conversation is going to turn into a verbal battleground. It means this person will start disparaging your intelligence, expertise, and experience so you no longer know what you know and won’t have the intellectual confidence to challenge them.

7. Lies, Lies, Lies: Mark Twain once commented that “Truth is more of a stranger than fiction.” Does that description fit the person you’re dealing with? Does he or she self-aggrandize and exaggerate his or her achievements? In order to win respect, bullies often claim to have been to places they’ve never been, boast of knowing people they’ve never met, and excel at things they’ve never tried.

In the mid 1970’s, I had the privilege of working with Grand-Slam tennis champion Rod Laver at his Hilton Head Island resort. A couple times a year we sponsored national tennis camps. Every once in awhile, someone would blow in and we would sense that we were able to deal with a type of individual the Aussies playfully refer to as “all flap and no throttle.” These “blowhards” always talked a bigger game than they delivered. Does the person you’re dealing with display “blowhard” tendencies? Does he or she wax eloquently(or not so eloquently) about past accomplishments? Did this individual somehow manage in the first few minutes of meeting you to let you know how much money he made, what degrees she had, or what awards he’s won? Was she so intent on impressing you with her curriculum vitae that she failed to ask about yours? Watch out. Red alert. Bully on the loose.

8. Constant Fault-Finder

“A critic is someone who’s at his best when you’re at your worst.” -Tony Pelleto

Verbal bullies do their best to make you feel worse. They always focus on what you do wrong, never on what you do right.

Are you thinking, “Well, my partner or boss does some of these things some of the time, but so do I! After all, no one is perfect.”

You’re right. We all have bad days. However, bullies don’t have bad days once in a while, they make the people around them have bad days most of the time. The key question to ask yourself is a) how frequently does this person engage in the above behaviors and b) is s/he willing to change?

If you checked off many of the behaviors above, then this person is not just having a bad day — they are knowingly throwing their weight around because it’s working for them. They probably have little incentive to change because their bully behavior is succeeding in giving them the power they crave.

Do you have any clout or leverage with this person? Are they open to input or are they so defensive they’ll dispute anything you say?

If you have tried to reason with this person; if you have tried=2 0to be logical and fair and have gotten nowhere — it’s because bullies don’t respond to reason. They want what they want and they’ll do whatever they have to do to get it.

Dealing successfully with bullies requires a whole different approach. Kindness will be perceived as weakness. I’m not suggesting you sacrifice your integrity and become a bully yourself. I am suggesting that if you’ve suffered in silence; if you’ve waited for the bully to “come to his/her senses” and apologize for their inappropriate behavior; that’s never going to happen.

YOU must take the bully by the horns if you want things to get better. YOU must change the way you respond to the bully or he or she will continue to take advantage of your good nature and make your work or home life miserable.

The good news is, there’s help.

My Take the Bully by the Horns book/CD package features a series of questions you can ask to determine whether:
* this personal or professional relationship is worth saving
* it is possible for this relationship to change or get better (andif it is possible, what you can say or do to motivate this person to treat you with the respect you want, need and deserve
* you may need to end the relationship to save your sanity, soul and health.

It also features specific action steps you can take so bullies can no longer run and ruin your life. In fact, bestselling author Dave Pelzer (“A Child Called It”) says my Take the Bully by the Horns system is “the perfect guide on how to avoid negative confrontations and face those who intimidate and manipulate you – without sacrificing your integrity.”

For more intriguing information and products that can lead you to solutions no matter what type of bullying you, your spouse, children and co-workers could be facing. Please visit http://www.takethebullybythehorns.com and http://www.tonguefu.com

 

Why are Bullies POPing out in the News?

You can hardly turn on the tv or pick up a newspaper these days without seeing or reading about the increase in bullying at work, at school, in homes and out in public.

Why? I call it “the food chain of bullying.”

When people are under stress, they often take it out on the people around them. And with today’s layoffs, foreclosures and disappearing 401K’s, a lot of people are under stress.

The good news is, you can take action to keep bullies from making you their next target.

First step is to figure out whether the difficult person in your personal or professional life qualifies as a bully.
Is he or she difficult once in a while . . . or all the time?

Take the following questionnaire to see if you’re dealing with someone who’s “just having a bad day” or someone who consistently mistreats others to get his/her own way.

To keep these posts short, I’ve divided up the questionnaire into three sections (or you can access the whole thing by going directly to http://www.tonguefu.com/media/articles/dealing_critic.html

The Characteristics of a Control Freak – Verbal Bully Checklist
by Sam Horn, author of Tongue Fu! and Take the Bully by the Horns

Is someone making your life miserable? To know how best to deal with that person; it’s important to determine if he or she is actually a bully . . .or if they’re just going through a rough time and taking their stress out on anyone unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity.

On a scale of 1 – 5 (with 1 being never, 3 being sometimes, and 5 being most of the time); ask yourself how often the difficult person in your life exhibits the following behaviors.

1. Dissonance. Psychologists agree that one of the primary indicators of a troubled person is incongruent behavior. Dave Barry said, “Someone who is nice to you and nasty to the waiter is not a nice person.”

Someone who is kind to you and cruel to others is not who he or she seems. Someone who makes racist remarks and then tries to laugh them off is revealing his or her true character (or lack of). Someone who says s/he loves children but seems remote or rigid when around them is displaying dissonance — defined as “inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s actions.” What this means is that you cannot take this person at his or her word. Everything they say will be suspect because you won’t know when they’re telling the truth and when they’re not.

2. Bitterness. Does this person have a lot of animosity for his or her parents or previous managers? Please understand you will be reliving and working out the unresolved traumas of this individual’s childhood and prior work relationships. You’ve heard the Zen saying, “Wherever you go, there you are?” This person hasn’t yet figured out that his or her source of bitterness is internal, not external. If this individual is lugging around deep-seated resentments, it is only a matter of time before s/he starts accusing you of the same “crimes” former significant others supposedly perpetrated upon him or her.

3. Twists words. Does this person take what you say and turn it into something you didn’t mean? Do you sometimes feel on the defensive and don’t even know why? Does this person obfuscate – make confusing statements and then accuse you of misunderstanding? Bullies often make commitments and then claim they never made them in the first place. This is a crazy-making ploy designed to turn you inside-out so you don’t know what’s up.

Any of these behaviors sound familiar? If so, check back in 3 days for 3 more tell-tale signs of a tryant . . . .

 

Why is the “Dancing Wedding Video” Striking a Chord?

“Most of the time, I don’t have much fun. The rest of the time, I don’t have any fun at all.” – Woody Allen

By this time, you’ve probably heard about the dancing wedding video of Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz that’s gone viral on YouTube. Or maybe you’ve seen the couple featured on The Today Show or read about them in People magazine.

Why has this video POP’d out?

I think it’s because it shows happiness in action.

In today’s economy, with unprecedented layoffs, foreclosures, and disappearing 401K’s, it’s a respite from the doom and gloom of our hard times.

How long has it been since you’ve had fun? Innocent, laugh-out-loud, carefree fun?

I think that’s what we tap into when we see that wedding party boogying down the aisle. “I’ll have what they’re having.”

I’ll always remember asking my sons’ preschool teacher if she was looking forward to her wedding, less than two weeks away.

She looked at me and said glumly, “I can’t wait ’til it’s over.”

Yikes. When I asked why, the about-to-be bride went on to explain that one uncle and aunt were threatening not to attend if the “other” uncle and aunt were going to be there because they couldn’t stand each other. The band had cancelled, the photographer wanted more money, and the caterer didn’t like the menu she’d requested.

I remember thinking, “That’s a poster child for losing perspective when we can’t wait for our own wedding to be over.”

I think that’s one of the reasons more than 14 million people have watched that video and passed it on. In the middle of everything going wrong, it shows something going gloriously right.

Puts things in perspective.

Have you watched the video? Forwarded it to friends? If so, why did it resonate with you? What motivated you to send it to others?

 

How Can I Get Investors Interested in My Idea, Product, Service or Business?

Here is Tip 12 of the Top 15 Ways to Capture Interest in Your Idea, Business, Product or Service

What is a benefit, deliverable, or attribute of your business, idea, product or service?

Craft that into a tag line people can repeat, word for word, after hearing it one time.

For example, I wask asked to coach the semi-finalists’ pitches at the Ignite Clean Energy Summit sponsored by the MIT Center for Enterprise.

A start-up was pitching an electric car that didn’t require a special outlet to be recharged.

I suggested the tagline, “Any outlet, anytime, anywhere.”

The team leader’s eyes lit up and he immediately motioned to his team to write it down.

At the end of the program, I asked the group to repeat something they’d heard, word for word.

Guess what the majority of the group said out loud?

That’s right. They said, “Any outlet, anytime, anywhere.”

Repeatability is the key to memorability which is the key to your success.

Why? It means that after hearing dozens of pitches, investors will remember YOU which means you’re the one they’re more likely to follow up with afterwards.