The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible pdfdrive com

Put Your Best Foot Forward
In creative selling, you always lead with the most important benefit that your
product can offer your customer in comparison with your competitors. This
becomes the key factor in your advertising, prospecting, and sales activities.
When you meet a prospect who really wants the special benefits that only your
product can offer, it is easy to make the sale.
Large companies spend an enormous amount of time and money to build a
reputation for their unique selling propositions. When IBM was the biggest
computer company in the world, it had an extraordinary reputation for customer
service. The company invested more than one billion dollars per year in giving
its customers fast, dependable service whenever an IBM product broke down.
For major customers with large computer installations, IBM would often fly in
several specialists from different parts of the world, all within twenty-four hours,
to get a computer system up and running again. IBM’s reputation for quality
service made it an industry leader worldwide.
Interestingly, at no time did IBM ever have a better, faster, or cheaper product
than its competitors. Other companies had superior products at lower prices with
more features. IBM did not even attempt to lead the field with state-of-the-art
equipment. They focused instead on their reputation for service and support.
This competitive advantage enabled them to become the most successful
company of its kind in the world.

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It Takes Your Breath Away
Some years ago, the distributors of Smirnoff vodka attempted to introduce
Smirnoff to the market in the United States. They had little success. At that time,
vodka was considered not only a foreign drink, but a Russian foreign drink. The
Cold War was on, and Americans were not particularly favorable to any Russian
products, especially a new form of liquor.
The Smirnoff distributors spent an enormous amount of money attempting to
position Smirnoff vodka as a superior choice to whiskey, scotch, gin, rum, and
other liquors. But to no avail. Finally they identified the “unique selling feature”
(USF) of Smirnoff: after drinking Smirnoff, no one could smell it on your
breath.
They instantly created an advertising campaign around this USF with two
lines: “Smirnoff ! It takes your breath away” and “Smirnoff ! It leaves you
breathless.”
In no time at all, Smirnoff became a $50 million product, and eventually a
$500 million product. It broke the market open for vodka sales, which are now
well in excess of a billion dollars a year. By identifying the competitive
advantage of the beverage, that people could drink at lunch without folks back at
the office knowing, they were able to create a great marketing success.
How could you describe or position your product in a similar way? What is
your unique selling proposition?