USPs

10 February 2021
• We can improve the identification of our USPs
• Understanding the unique aspects of a proposition that only our organisation can deliver
• USPs are relevant to the customer’s business, compelling and measurable for a specific business user
• Customising and positioning the unique aspects of our proposition with each relevant stakeholder in the
sales process
• USPs are not always unique features they are selling points that address Explicit Needs
• Always include them in the proposal – clearly articulated in the Executive Summary
• What are they buying?
• What does it do?
• How great is our service?
• How experienced are our people?
• Why are they buying it?
• Why are they buying it from us?
• Feature
• “What it is” - every product or service is made up of elements that do things
• Examples from Excel:- a pivot table, spell checker, auto sum
• Function
• What it does – what the feature does
• Example from Excel:- the spell checker looks at a word and compares it to words like it in the
dictionary, in the event the dictionary cannot find the word with the same spelling, it will
suggest other words that have a number of similar letters and ensure you make no mistrakes
• Benefit
• What value the user is going to derive from using this feature
• Example from Excel:- because you always look professional you will never lose another customer
such as Acme Engineering which cost you $75,000
• Benefits must be specific to an Explicit Need of that person at the customer or they are just words based on guessed
Implied Needs
• Have we ever sold benefits when we don’t know what the Explicit Need is or sold benefits to
someone that they don’t impact?
• When we bombard customers with Features before we have understood their Explicit Needs we create confusion,
objections or both
• Example – we deploy in 7 languages
• When your customer cannot tell you why they chose you in Benefits specific to them – we have not done a great job
 Implied Need

Implication and Need-

Features / Functions payoff questions

Objections Explicit Need

Defense Benefits
• Product depth – Product does everything they want and more
• Product quality – Engineering methodology is robust
• Global spread – we have offices in 12 countries
• R&D – we invest heavily in R&D
• Service quality – Our people try the hardest, are nice, and they really deliver
• People – Customers love our people - they are smart and know our business
• Stability – Financial strength
• Support – We deliver 24 x 7 support

Which are unique and defensible?

8
 “B2B purchasers are 50% more likely to buy a product when they see personal value
for them in the form of confidence in their choice – or a positive impact on their
career. They’re also 8 times more likely to pay a premium for that product” – Gartner

Business benefit Business user #1

Competitor 1 Competitor 2 Condeco

20%
USPs USPs USPs

Table common common common Business benefit Business user #2

stakes functionality functionality functionality
60%
• What is unique about Condeco the customer believes differentiates us from the competition and meets
their Explicit Needs
• What the business problems are that Condeco fixes
• Who owns these problems
• Sell the benefits to them
• Persuade them they must have these features before any others
• Deliver an ROI that is specific to our USPs
• Articulation of the reasons the customer wants to buy from us
• Describe why only we deliver what the customer wants tied to an Explicit Need
• Create clear differentiation from our competition the customer understands
• Create clear differentiation from our competition a customer states to others
• Give people confidence about the decision to choose you
• Demonstrate you understand the customer issues
• Make the decision so compelling the customer will be delighted
• (What is the WOW?)
• Give the customer the tools to sell the decision “Why Condeco” internally
• USPs are not always product related
• USPs are not always things others cannot do
• When the customer is not focused on our USPs they are focused on what we can’t do
• Challenges – Do you understand the customer’s problems?
• Understanding – Do you know the impact or potential impact that this has
on their business?
• Proposal – How does your proposal address the challenges and deliver
value to the customer, do you have a plan to make your champion happy?
• Proof – Can you prove or demonstrate others you have done this for?
• Engagement – ask people in the Corporate Real Estate, Facilities
Management, IT, Finance and HR teams if they have Problems
• Did you rely on one person’s optic?
• What is the WOW?
• Take a current live customer and define the Condeco USPs you are
addressing that match the customer’s Explicit Needs
• State what the needs are
• In the event you can’t think of any for that customer think of some
examples of Explicit Needs a customer may have and what a Condeco USP
is to meet these Explicit Needs
• You will need to offer the customer context when you present