What's a Unique Selling Position & How do You Make One?

Unique selling position. Unique sales proposition. To-may-to, to-mah-to. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

But instead of calling the whole thing off I’m going to call you out, because it’s too important NOT to know what this is and how to make one.

First things first, we’re going to call it a USP. More importantly, we’re going to define what exactly is a USP.

U is for different

The first thing to do if you want to stand out in a crowded marketplace is be different. And not just on the surface. I’m sorry but you can’t just say a bad word on your website and think you’re different.  

And you don’t get to spell “yes” with an A and 4 esses and 13 exclamation points to stand out. Surprise! Everyone else does that.

Nope, you’ve got to showcase something that’s actually different than your comp set to be taken seriously by couples looking for your services.

S is for buying

As in, pay attention to what your couples want from you. The moment you stop trying so hard to sell something is when you’ll start making more money. So give up the pitch and listen to what your buyers are sharing with you.

Couples are tired of being sold. Well, they’re certainly tired of asking if you’re available and how much you charge, and you respond with a super long, templated email response and a generic pricing PDF attached…but that’s a different blog post.

Focus your energy on creating value in areas you’re an expert and they need help in. That’s all. Find what you do well and they need done – and you’ll be in great shape.

P is for comp set

And comp set stands for 1) competitors AND 2) comparables. I don’t care if they’re your friends (congrats that you get along with everyone) or your enemies. What your comp set does is sell their wares to the same people as you. And that means you have to set your services in context with what couples are hearing from them.  

The key here is that you can’t just be different. You have to compare your difference within the context of vendors your couples are also looking at. 

Okay, let’s put it all together:

• U is for different

• S is for buying

• P is for comp set

So, a USP is what makes you different and how you stand out with couples buying from vendors offering pretty much the same service at about the same price?

Dissecting a good USP

Let’s look at a USP and take it apart. Here’s one for me:

“You’ll make more money with strategies and tactics from a professional consultant who’s sold millions in weddings to hundreds of couples based on the science of persuasion.”

The breakdown:

You – Yes, I’m talking to you. 

Make more money – The benefit you receive working with me.

Strategies – Pros come to me when they’ve run out of natural ability and luck, charisma and connections.

Tactics – I’m no millennial mindset life coach. I focus on step-by-step and how-to. No woo-woo sold here.

Professional – This isn’t a side hustle for me. I don’t do this on top of my wedding business.

Sold millions in weddings to hundreds of couples – I’ve been in the industry doing what you do. Not many business coaches can say they’ve obsessed about selling weddings for over a dozen years. Or if they have it’s only with their own business, not someone else’s.

Science of persuasion – I don’t teach you just what worked for me. No, I blend together buyer’s psychology, decision-making theory, and behavioral economics based on proven, accepted research. 

What’s your USP?