I recently got a call from a good buddy of mine.  It went something like this:

"hey, can you check out my new website and tell me what you think"

"Ok, yup here it is, um, great, well, it looks nice but it won't sell anything"

"Well, what do you mean, we just had it professionally designed"
"Well for starters, there is no headline, no call to action and no sales copy"

See, my buddy is a computer network specialist.  He has a company that operates locally in his city and provides networking solutions to other companies.  They will go in and maintain a network, set up security, set up software and so on in their clients place of business.  He has a buddy who is an advertising guy - builds websites and the likes.  So here he is with his new website all set up.

The website looks very corporate, tells a litle bit about what they do - describes some of their services.

I said, OK, right now your website looks like all the other websites out there in your field.  Why should a client do business with you above any and all other options available to them?

He couldn't answer.  See, this is the USP - the Unique Selling Proposition.  What is it that sets you apart - what makes you different, why should anyone do business here?  He never defined what he does or what he sells.

Next question, where is your call to action?

"my what?"

What is it you want people to do once they come to your site?

"Oh, well, I don't know, I thought I just had to put up a nice site"

(oh, please)

See, my buddy doesn't even have a clear, defined sales process.  I said, OK, let's work backwards here.  How do you get new business?

"Well, all I know is that if I can meet with a prospect, there is a pretty good chance I can close them"

OK, now we are getting somewhere.

"OK, so if that is the case, then your website needs to sell a meeting.  You need to irritate a problem that your client would have and then offer to solve the problem by coming in to their business and having a free consultation.  Your website needs to sell the free meeting.  Then you can close them"

Now he was starting to see the light.

See, BEFORE you get started on all of this, you need to take a minute and clearly define your sales process.  What steps do you want your prospect to take?  Make them easy steps to take, tell them what to do, hold their hand as they do it.  Guide them along.  If your business works when you have a meeting with a prospect, then any marketing you do needs to be focussed on getting that meeting.  Print advertising, website, all need to be targeted towards getting that meeting.  The first thing that the prospect should see when they come to your website should be a good headline - one that draws them in and irritates the problem.  The solution to their problem needs to be for them to invite you to a meeting, and then make it very easy for them to set up the meeting right there.

If you can sell face to face, then your website needs to set that up.

It is too bad my buddy didn't ask me for help BEFORE he set up his site.  What a waste of a website

Your USP is your Unique Selling Proposition.

This is the identity that you create that sets you apart from your competitors in your marketplace.  This is the answer to the question in your customer's minds "why should I do business here?".

One thing that you have to remember though, as you develop your USP, is that you need to make sure that your USP addresses a concern that actually exists in your marketplace.

If your USP boasts something about your business that you think is important to you but none of your customers find important, then you have missed the mark.  If you have a Pizza shop and you are bragging about how fast you can deliver the pizzas but most of your customers are walk-in customers and they actually come there because of the taste of your pizza, then you have missed the mark.  You are promoting a feature of your business that is not relevant to your customers.

As you set up your USP, make sure that you not only identify and address important features or benefits, make sure that they are the features and benefits that your marketplace is actually looking for.

Jonathan Hook teaches businesses how to consistently and predictably increase profits through implementation of a proven marketing system at TheMarketersMind.com

Commodity: a mass-produced unspecialized product.

As soon as you base your sale on the price, you reduce your product or service to a commodity.  For any business to be successful, you will need to set yourself apart.  What is different about what you offer?

This is called a U.S.P. - a Unique Selling Proposition

You have to think long and hard about what it is that sets your business or your product or your service apart from your competition.

Once you determine your USP and what sets you apart, you need to first, make sure that your employees know what it is.  It is possible that the thing you think you are selling is not the message that is getting out.  So secondly. make sure that your message is getting out to your customers.  You need to be using your USP as your message so that your customers can understand what it is that sets you apart and why they should buy from you

Once you have something that can set you apart, you are no longer selling your product or service based on price.  That is when you start to move from being a commodity to offering something of value.  Once you can move the focus of your customers off the price and on to the benefits, you will start to increase your profits.