Photo by stevegarfield
My wife recently taped a 60 minutes special on Simon Cowell. I was completely blown away by this interview. I never realized that Simon Cowell was a business genius. He really is, I'm not kidding.
Whether love Simon or hate him, you should definitely pay attention to him. In the interview, Simon revealed his true purpose for American Idol. And believe me, it isn't what you would think.
For example, his original pitch to American TV Executives was:
American Idol will be a show where the American dream of rags to riches actually comes true. Simon went on to explain that his plan was to take an average person and turn them into a star. In fact, he planned to take them from nobody to somebody in just 20 weeks. This is a pretty impressive USP, if you ask me. Believe it or not, his idea was initially rejected. He kept on trying and finally sold the show to the Fox Network.
If you haven't heard of a USP, it means "Unique Selling Proposition." Your Unique Selling Proposition is what sets you apart from your competitors. Simon was trying to sell his TV show by with his USP. He faced some rejection, but it ultimately worked. Do you have a USP for your real estate business? What do you stand for? What makes you different? Why should a prospect use your services above all other options? According to Wikipedia, Unique Selling Proposition is defined as:
- Each advertisement must make a proposition to the customer: "buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit."
- The proposition itself must be unique - something that competitors do not, or will not, offer.
- The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product.
Can you see how Simon was trying to set his proposed TV show apart from all others? How do you set yourself apart from other real estate agents? Here are some other USPs, also from Wikipedia, for you to study:
Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:
- Head & Shoulders: "You get rid of dandruff"
- Olay: "You get younger-looking skin"
- loreal: "Because you are worth it"
- Set Wet: "Very very sexy"
- Red Bull: "You get stimulation of body and mind"
- Ronseal: "You get exactly what it says on the tin"
Some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:
- Domino's Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less -- or it's free."
- FedEx: "When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight"
- M&M's: "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand"
- Wonder Bread: "Wonder Bread Helps Build Strong Bodies 12 Ways
Let's stop right here. Do you have a USP? You really should. What do you stand for? What is your goal as an agent? How do you clients benefit from using you? Take some time over the weekend to think about your USP.
I definitely had a USP for my real estate business. In fact, I was able to turn my USP into an actual picture. It was and is extremely powerful.
In my next post, I'll explain the incredible business strategy behind American Idol. You don't want to miss it because it is simply brilliant. In fact, it has helped Simon Colwell become extremely wealthy.
Rob Minton
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