Your Unique Selling Proposition

In business they use the term USP: Unique Selling Proposition. It means the thing you or your business has that no one else does, that makes it worthwhile for people to do business with you.

I believe that concept extends to your whole life.
Being myself, thinking the way I think, doing things the way I do them, my take on the world, this is my built in uniqueness. These are my advantages.

No one else has this exact pattern of traits, and THAT is what makes each of us unique, and realizing what exactly our uniqueness is makes it easier to find out what our best niche in the world would look like.

Being yourself, thinking the way you think, doing things the way you do them, your take on the world, this is your built in uniqueness. These are your advantages.

What are YOUR advantages? It's well worth putting some thought into it!!

My Unique Selling Proposition is my laugh.

I'm so funny, I can make myself laugh!

I'm teasing! I think this is a fantastic post and people could gain a lot of value reflecting inwardly. I don't know about others, but I do not give myself the credit I deserve at times. We all can accomplish some really neat stuff.

I LOVE this!!!

My USP just happens to be....
helping B2B SaaS companies convey their USP/UVP (Unique Value Proposition) (and the benefits of their features) on their websites!

I'm a Copyhackers Certified SaaS Conversion Copywriter, but I can help anyone identify and articulate their USP/UVP to their customers

I also have a Permaculture Certification from the Cincinnati Permaculture Guild

My Unique Selling Proposition, and my advantages that I have over others, is that I have never been normal, and I think very differently and outside of the common boxes.  I have spent most of my life self employed, and when I do work for others it's on my terms, that I will do what I do best, and I will not be here long term. Having a normal job where I sit at a desk and do the same things every day for years is not something I have ANY urge or temperament to do.  

There is a great need for people who think inside the boxes, they are the foundations of this society, but the people like me are the bright lights that change and move things, that innovate, build new systems that will end up being the new normal box for the box thinkers to move into. Bright sparks remind others that they too can dance! Be a bright spark!

My brain has different data in it than most people, and I correlate all of that data into patterns that are obvious to me, and puzzling leaps to others. I have had very different life experiences, and I learned a LOT through all of them, consciously trying to learn all I could in every situation, and choosing the next situation to be different from anything I did before, so I learned more things. There are a lot of things I never learned, and normal life experiences I have never had, so some things other people find easy and just 'what you do' baffle me. I have learned how to identify my niche, and stay in it, and not even try to get into more typical situations, as I'd be totally lost in them.

There's a very wise saying "Your best quality is also your worst flaw."  and I have figured out my best qualities, and try to keep them the things I do most, since when I end up in situations where they are a flaw, I have much fewer skills for coping.

Think on yours!
:D

I'm retired now, but my uniqueness came from sharing.

When I worked for the feds (electronics), other workers kept their notes secret, so they could make themselves look good.  I, on the other hand, shared my notes with anyone interested.

I should NOTE I was a fanatical note taker, and might even have had notes about my notes.  My notes were so detailed, engineers told a company with which Keyport [Washington] had contracted, to re-write a manual, they should ask to see my notes. When the updated manual came out, it was, as much as not, my notes.

Because I shared my notes, everyone I worked with looked just a little bit better, versus just me looking a little better for secreting what I knew.  That ended up making me points and I was given some fun jobs that were well above my pay grade. Some included travel.

Years later, tired of the financial security of a government position, I struck out on my own. Eventually, I took up contracting, to include handyman work.  This involved techniques and formulas not readily available or known to the general permies, or even other contractors.  

I approached every job with the idea I was the expert and it was my duty to call upon my knowledge to benefit my customers. That included explaining to them why I did things a certain way, or used certain formulas. For example, living in the Northwet, relatively close to the coast line, exterior wood projects took a beating. That included fences.  Subsequently, I got many jobs repairing and maintaining fences.  

I would explain to people why I would never use surface coats (paint, poly, etc.) on fences and, instead, just used non-hardening oils.  I, also, would offer them my formulas and tell them how to use them, including safety precautions.

Associates would express shock that I shared trade secrets I came up with, but I pointed out that only a rare few would use them, if they even remembered them. They did remember that I would show them how to not need me in the future.  Only rarely was I not the first one they trusted to call back when something else needed to be done.



I did a variation of this approach when I took on a job working on the oldest Queen Ann house in Olympia, Washington.  

I was hired to do the painting, but painting over the trim around an interior door, ignoring major damage, didn't sit well with me. On my time and dime, I'd cut out a sample piece near the damaged area, take it back to my shop, duplicate it and install it in place of the damaged piece.

Comically, when a woodwork related problem came up, someone from the other trades could be heard calling out "go find the painter."  I ended up being contracted to repair floors, doors, exterior shingles and so on.

Going the extra mile for the customer resulted in me being the only contractor they retained over several years.

I can relate to much of what you say.  I suspect it is, in part, because, for example, other people find amusement in playing games on their computer, while I am more entertained by making them work when they wouldn't.

Pearl Sutton wrote: . . . . Having a normal job where I sit at a desk and do the same things every day for years is not something I have ANY urge or temperament to do.  

. . . .

My brain has different data in it than most people, and I correlate all of that data into patterns that are obvious to me, and puzzling leaps to others. I have had very different life experiences, and I learned a LOT through all of them, consciously trying to learn all I could in every situation, and choosing the next situation to be different from anything I did before, so I learned more things. There are a lot of things I never learned, and normal life experiences I have never had, so some things other people find easy and just 'what you do' baffle me. I have learned how to identify my niche, and stay in it, and not even try to get into more typical situations, as I'd be totally lost in them.
. . . .

Kelly Craig: I agree with what you said about sharing all the information you can. I'm notorious for teaching my workers more than is needed for the task as we work, so they don't just do the task as told, they understand why we are doing it that way, how the technique can be used in other situations, etc. It makes them not only better employees for me, but much better also for other people when they move on. Which I explain to them too!!  :D

The only thing I disagree with in your post is saying "I'm retired now, but my uniqueness came from sharing."  It STILL does! It's just not sharing your job now, it's part of your life, realizing that helps all of us see that it works everywhere, not just at work in various jobs   :D  "Selling" in this context is just the words that people can use to look it up for more information,  but you also sell yourself when you date, when you meet the new neighbor, when you deal with a store clerk or your kids. And using your best skills helps you make everything in your life run more smoothly.  

:D