I harp a lot on the idea of every Realtor® I work with developing a well defined USP, or unique sales position. You can really call it whatever you want, but the point is that in order to grow your business more quickly, with less effort, there needs to be something about your business that makes you stand out – especially on the internet.What is it about how your business works or what you offer that makes you the only logical choice for your clients? I am not talking about a tagline, or a catchy slogan. Your “big idea” is much, much deeper than that (and much bigger) because it forms the foundation for your entire real estate business.The most successful businesses I know are based on ONE simple big idea. Some way they view the world or something they offer to the market that fills a need like no one else.The Dominos franchise finally took off when they created their “big idea” of hot pizza in 30 minutes or less.Would you think that the idea of delivering a pizza in 30 minutes (with no mention of how it would look or taste) was big enough to build into a multi million dollar venture?Well it was, and then some.Now I know you might be wondering why I spend so much of my time trying to focus so much of your attention on developing this?Why does almost every newsletter, blog post or product I create somehow incorporate the idea of a USP (hint… it might just be MY “big idea”) and how to use it to market your business more effectively with technology?Most Realtors® I work with think that SEO or web marketing are their number one challenges.I would agree that they are challenging, but I think that developing your “big idea” or USP is much, much more challenging than that.It’s also far more lucrative, because once you have it, it will permeate every single thing you do in your business.I’m sure I scare some clients who come to me for the nuts and bolts knowledge about how to market their businesses with technology. What they want is to sit down and get to work on the busy work, without going through the important stuff first.In fact, I view the lack of a “big idea” as the number one problem that is keeping most Realtors® running like hamsters in a wheel on the internet. Without it, you are forced to try to make up for it by DOING more than your competition in order to be successful. More SEO, more blogging, more article writing, more tracking, more pay-per-click ads, more of everything.You have to make up in volume what you lack in content. And that gets expensive and very, very tiring. Trust me, I’ve tried it.Who wants to do business online if all it means is never being able to stop DOING all of this “stuff?”Without a well defined “big idea,” or USP, I think you are setting yourself up for failure on the internet.You can see it on most real estate websites out there. Just pick one, get it up on your screen and ask yourself, “What is the big idea that this website is trying to convey to me? What is the compelling reason that I should do business with this person?”You probably won’t find answers to either of those questions.And that means that you have a HUGE opportunity to take a giant leap out in front of your competition by getting your big idea, or USP in place and building the rest of your business on top of it.So how do you get YOUR big idea?Coming up with your idea isn’t as simple as picking up an extra gallon of milk at the super market. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. It’s probably not something you can come up with during a power brainstorming session.Your big idea is something you let come up from within you.It needs to be:1. a really good idea2. something that you are passionate about3. something that is compelling to the marketLet’s take these one by one:A REALLY GOOD IDEA
==================Here’s an example. Let’s say you are a doctor, trained at Harvard and dripping with years and years of experience… And over those years you’ve come to the conclusion that, despite the advances in modern medicine, you believe the facts tell the story that the best and healthiest way to live is to develop a completely natural lifestyle when it comes to food, exercise and helping your body heal itself.Your big idea could be this: “I’m a Harvard trained MD. I know my stuff. And I think most of it is wrong because it works against the natural way your body is designed to work. And here is my solution for living longer and being healthier without modern medicine.”SOMETHING YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT
==================================I am sure you’ve all read books about the legends of the sales industry that, despite their odd walk, bad clothes and terrible hair, rose to the top of their profession simply because they were passionate about what they were doing.Passion is something that your market can sense. By creating your “big idea” based on something you are passionate about, you will be tapping into an infinite source of energy and inspiration that will always be accessible to you.COMPELLING TO THE MARKET
==================================Let’s face it, it’s hard to be successful selling something that people don’t want. Just being different isn’t enough. But if you’ve been in the real estate business for any amount of time, you probably have a good idea of what your market really wants (even if they aren’t saying it). When you are developing your “big idea,” or USP, make sure you always remember the “court of last resort.” It’s your market. They are the only ones that get a vote.Here are some questions to jumpstart your thinking and help you get started developing your own “big idea.”-How do you view the real estate business in a way that is different than any other Realtor®?
-What is the most important thing you could be telling your clients right now?
-What is the biggest unsolved challenge your clients have right now? How can you provide a solution that is quicker, cheaper or measurably superior in some way?Now I have to warn you, there is a problem with committing to a big idea. That problem is that you can only have one. And by committing to it, you will turn off some people. Some of your market simply won’t like your idea.That means you cannot be all things to all people. There is no effective way to do that.Dominos probably didn’t do such a good job of attracting the gourmet pizza crowd. Excellent tasting gourmet pizza was not on Dominos list of priorities. They didn’t even promise their pizza would taste good.They promised it would be hot and at your door in 30 minutes or it would be free.The upside is that you will begin attracting more of your market that does want to do business with you because on some level, they like the idea you are conveying.And nothing is set in stone. People change. Businesses change. Big ideas change. Just start with something. That will put you ahead of most of your competition.The real challenge is coming up with ways to effectively communicate your “big idea” so that it is crystal clear to your market.So start thinking… Get to work on the foundation of your business… your big idea is in you somewhere.