What Is Your Unique Value Proposition?

Standing out from the crowd is not an easy task. For instance, in the financial services industry, there are countless advisors (and those calling themselves financial advisors) trying to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Most have similar offerings and compliance departments that keep descriptions of products and services fairly black and white. Nevertheless, with a few simple questions, you can uncover why it is that people choose to work with you and how you can accentuate your uniqueness to win more business.

Identify the most unique aspect of your company. Identifying what is unique about your company is advice often given but seldom followed. Here are a series of questions that financial advisors use to separate themselves from the crowd:

• What do your current clients say about you? (If you don’t know, ask them.)
• How has your firm made your current clients feel? (If you don’t know, ask them.)
• What do you do that no one else does (or few others do)?
• What target market do you focus on serving?
• What expertise and certifications do you have?
• Do you have a named service system or investment process that others do not?
• What is offered by the advisor and/or staff that could be considered “above and beyond”?

By taking a close look at what others are saying about you, whom you serve and what you bring to the table, you will begin to understand what makes you unique and what makes people choose to work with you over your competitors. That is your unique value proposition.