You’re not getting that many deals.
You try to explain that your business can close in just a few weeks… that you can offer cash.
But… so can every other real estate investor in the area.
The problem is, you’re no different. You’re doing what every other real estate investor in the area is doing: buying distressed properties for cash and closing in just a few weeks (from the seller’s point of view).
That’s the business model, after all…
But if you’ve got competitors on every side of you, all doing the same thing, that’s not going to cut it.
And I’m not saying you have to completely change your business model…
You just need to get a little creative with the angle you’re using.
Let me explain.
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There’s no such thing as a “Unique Selling Proposition” anymore.
Unique means,
“Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.”
And the truth is… there aren’t any more truly “unique” selling propositions for your real estate investing business — they’ve all been taken.
- Faster closing time, taken.
- Better cash offers, taken.
- Better support, taken.
- More relational sales, taken.
- Better expertise, taken.
- Local operation only, taken.
Okay.
No good then, right?
Throw in the towel, shut the doors, do something else with your life.
That, of course, is NOT my point.
My point is that the selling proposition you choose for your business doesn’t have to be unique.
That’s right. It doesn’t have to be unique.
In fact, it probably shouldn’t be.
A selling proposition doesn’t have to be unique to attract more leads and close more deals, but you do need to have one.
Why “Unique” doesn’t really matter
Let’s back up.
The entire goal of having a Unique Selling Proposition is what?
(Close moreeee dealz!!)
It’s to differentiate your business in a crowded market so that you can generate more leads and close more deals of a certain type.
In other words, the Unique Selling Proposition you choose only matters to a select group of people — and that’s the way it should be.
Some people won’t care, for example, if you have 10 years experience more than your competitor if the other guy’s offer is $10k better.
But some people will.
And it’s the people who do care that matter — those are the ones that your Unique Selling Proposition gives you an advantage over for closing the deal.
It doesn’t matter if your selling proposition is unique to your market or not because any selling proposition works to carve you out a well-defined niche that some competitors in your market don’t have access to (because they’ve chosen a different USP… or don’t have one at all).
Still, some selling propositions are more powerful than others.
So here’s how we recommend creating your own “Unique” Selling Proposition.
3 ways to create a “Unique” Selling Proposition
1. Look at your own values.
Think about Call Porter for a second.
A few of our values at Call Porter are…
- Honest marketing
- Empathy
- Likeability
- Compassion
And those values make a massive difference in how we operate.
For instance, because we believe in honest marketing, we are constantly working to improve our answering service so we have something to talk about!
It drives us to deliver top-notch results for our clients so that when we do advertise, we know we can help really help real estate investors grow — we’re honest in our excitement.
Your own core values impact the way you do business, even if you don’t realize it.
Maybe you have a natural tendency to be extremely honest with sellers, or you really enjoy building authentic relationships with them, or maybe you like helping people, regardless of whether they work with you or not, so you have a strong referral network you use often.
Whatever the case, write down your core values if you haven’t already and see if one of those will work as your USP.
A few value-based USP examples might be…
- We are more compassionate toward sellers and won’t ask unnecessary questions.
- We will help sellers even if our service isn’t a fit for them.
- We will be honest and transparent with all of our marketing and sales efforts.
2. Look at your business model.
A common way to create your USP is to tweak your business model slightly from the norm.
I know one real estate investor, for example, who purchases properties outright for cash (using his own money) and does all the title work in-house. While most of his competitors advertise that they can close in just 2-4 weeks, he can close in 2-4 days.
Naturally, that gives him a unique advantage that most of his competitors don’t have.
So ask yourself, is there some way you could tweak your business model to create your USP?
It could be something as simple as sending detailed cash offer packets to sellers or meeting with each seller face-to-face.
A few examples of business-model based USP examples might be…
- We can buy your house as-is in just 2-4 days (vs. 2-4 weeks)
- We meet with every seller face-t0-face.
- If someone offers you a better price for your distressed property, we’ll match it.
3. Look at your niche.
Niche-ing down further can be a great way to create your USP.
Instead of purchasing any property as-is for cash, you could focus on only buying properties that aren’t in distress (there’s a market for this, believe it or not).
Or you could strictly buy properties in a certain area of town (near the river, next to a school, in a specific district).
Another way to niche down is by the problem that the sellers are experiencing: maybe you only buy homes from people who are going through foreclosure or bankruptcy — making your marketing materials infinitely more targeted.
Niche-ing down like this makes you the go-to person for that specific niche. You might lose other parts of the pie in the process, but you’re pretty much guaranteed to get the part that you carved out.
Here are some examples of niche-based USPs…
- We buy properties for cash that aren’t in distress and we can close in 2 weeks.
- We only buy multi-family homes.
- We only pay cash for homes from people going through divorce.