Objections - Can You Handle Them? Part 3 "What the Heck is a USP?"

In parts 1 and 2 of the "Handling Objections" series we talked about some specific questions that should be part of any three-deep needs analysis in today's real estate market. We covered the dangers of "puking" (TELLING the prospect about the market, their homes value, the neighborhood, the town, the schools, the parks, the shopping and more without knowing what they want or need). We showed you how the needs analysis forces you to listen to the prospect and how the answers you get are the "Bullets" you need to close the deal. Now we need to cover the basis, the very foundation of the "Presentation" portion of your appointment... your Unique Selling Prospect, or, your USP.

The "Elevator Pitch"

A good USP is the unique reason that a prospect would choose to do business with you rather than with your competition.  A great USP is the unique reason a prospect feels that they would have to be a fool to do business with anyone else.

People will do business with you based upon two general conditions:

1. They like you - assuming you are like-able enough when you make an effort, you should have this covered
2. There's something in it for them - after weighing the cost vs. benefit, they perceive that the value of your product or service is greater than that of your competition

Yes!  It's really that simple.  In a properly executed real estate listing appointment (either Buyer or Seller listing), the "Presentation" portion of the encounter only occurs after a thorough needs analysis.  To create a great presentation, you need to start with a world-class USP and work backward.  So how do you create a world-class USP?  The following exercise will get you started:

On a piece of paper:

1. Write down your greatest strengths as an agent. - Leave space enough to write a couple of lines between each strength.
2. Think about each strength from the client perspective - write down what is in it for them under each strength.
3. Still looking at it from the client's perspective - pick the most powerful two or three strengths (no more than three).
4. Take the statements under each of the most powerful strengths - boil them down to their essence.  Make them as succinct as possible.  

You should be able to communicate your USP in under thirty seconds in a simple and powerful way.  You could also call this your "Thirty Second Elevator Script".

The rest is easy.  Once you have your USP refined, your entire presentation flows from that one, simple powerful statement.

After the needs analysis, you choose only the portions of your presentation that apply to the prospect's needs and CLOSE THE DEAL.

Happy hunting!!