Ernest Hemmingway said that he could write a story in just six words…"For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Used." It is a sad story to say the least—but it illustrates the point that you too can write your own "business story" using just a few key words.
LoanOfficerMagazine.com is currently running a contest asking loan officers and mortgage companies to submit their USP. (CLICK HERE to enter.) The deadline to enter is midnight, June 1, 2003 and you do not have to be a subscriber to win. The top five winners will each be awarded an audio CD replay by a SuperStar Originator, donated by
http://www.OnLineSuccessTraining.com.
However, for those of you who do not currently have a USP—or if you wish to enhance the one you already have, we have a few tips on how to go about creating your very OWN Unique Selling Proposition—or tag line. Your USP reinforces your IDENITY, sets you apart from your competition and tells the public exactly what it is that you do!
The first step is to decide what it is you want to COMMUNICATE to your clients. Ask yourself these questions. You do NOT have to incorporate all of these answers into your USP. Choose the one that sets you apart from everyone other loan officer in the world.
1. Who ARE my customers? (A-Paper Convention, Sub-prime, 1st Time Homebuyers, Jumbo Loans)
2. What BENEFITS can I offer to my customers? (Three-minute Underwriting, Seminars, Divorce Buyouts)
3. What FEELINGS do I want to evoke in my clients? (Loyalty i.e. Customers for Life, Helpful i.e. Buyer’s Advocate)
4. What ACTION am I trying to generate from my customers?
5. How am I DIFFERENT from my competition?
Then, prepare to brainstorm. The more words you come up with, the better—use verbs, nouns and adjectives and write each word on index cards. You can do this solo, but it’s best to gather a few select people to help you brainstorm here. Use the Thesaurus. Come up with 50-75 words.
Try combining the words on your list. When an idea looks promising, write it down. Add your own name to it if you can. Does is "suggest" a homonym or a pun?
Marcia Yudkin, President of Creative Marketing Solutions (www.yudkin.com) advises us that creative words make you think of "what the best ones of different sorts" are called, such as king, big fish, pinnacle, mogul, goddess, queen, master of, biggest or best! She advises that you can also try out rhymes—like Vacation Station or Dan The Mortgage Man.
One last piece of advice: make sure that you check out the legality of the USP you select. Oftentimes, mortgage companies and loan officers are trade marking and/or copyrighting their USP. You can run a preliminary check to see if someone else has used your USP (and has officially trademarked it) at http://www.trademarkinfo.com.
Once you have created it, use your USP on everything that you do, including your business cards, letterhead or signature line, your post cards and yes, even your email signature. You may also wish to add to your picture. You can have more than one USP. Let’s say that you specialize in Jumbo Loans and New Construction. Develop two USP’s and use one or the other—depending upon the client!
Creating a USP is not the easiest thing in the world to do. But, I assure you, that once you have developed it, it will make a huge difference in your business.
Copyright, 2003, LoanOfficerMagazine.com
