Your unique selling proposition is one of the most important and vital marketing elements in your business. It’s the thing-that clear statement of what is unique and special about YOUR business – the quintessential element that sets you apart from your competitors. It crystalizes your position in the mind of your prospects and your clients or customers.

Your USP is that single, unique benefit, essence, appeal or big promise that you hold out to the prospect, one that no other competitor offers. Your USP must do four things:

1. It must attract attention

2. It must distinguish you from your competitors

3. It must fill an industry gap

4. It must motivate someone to TAKE ACTION

Creating a USP for your business and communicating it in all your marketing, selling and advertising gives you a distinctive competitive advantage. Articulated properly, it will motivate your prospects to take action. So how do you find yours and how do you articulate it in a compelling way so your clients and prospects will be drawn to you and want to do business with you and want to refer others?

You need to look at three key elements involved in creating a USP.

1. How to find words to express it

2. How to weave your USP into everything you do so that your business takes on an exciting and clear identity in your marketplace.

3. How to get your team focused on it so that everyone in your company ‘lives’ the vision.

The best place to start developing your USP is to look at several of history’s great examples of USP in action. By understanding how and why they have worked, how those companies have literally become legendary by having a clearly articulated and strategically sound USP, you will have a much better picture of what you should be aiming yours at.

One example is a tiny freight company that started out some years ago with somewhat grandiose ideas of revolutionizing the freight market. The creator identified that while every other freight company was cutting prices to get market share, a vast segment of the market was far more interested in something other than price. For them, speed and guaranteed delivery was the essence. His promise, his unique selling proposition therefore became… “When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight!” And the rest is history! Federal Express became the first corporation ever to go from zero turnover to a billion dollar enterprise in under 10 years.

There are three factors to creating a powerful USP for your business:

1. Accurately identifying and quantifying the niche that you want to fill

2. Defining the major frustrations in that niche and,

3. Articulating HOW you solve those frustrations in a way that will make prospects actively seek you out.

Yes, developing your USP can be the most challenging ting you can do in your business. It is not something that will come easily. But without it, you simply won’t have an edge in the market. On the other hand, when you do identify your niche, define the frustrations, and articulate your USP, your position in the market will be all but unassailable. You will have a new and exciting direction, a common vision of who and what you are, so that you and every member of your team can ‘live’ the dream, and your clients and customers will have new clarity as to who you are and they will have new and compelling reasons to buy from you.

Author Brian Norton is a highly respected and astute investor, property developer, agent,auctioneer and author, Brian Norton is a Highly respected public speaker and consultant, He is an industry expert and trainer and assessor, sign up for his soon to be released book “Dare to Dream” at http://benjimite.com or through the comments section on http://blog.realestate-profit.com.