The high-ground where you can stake your flag. The sweet spot your customers flock to, where the competition can’t go.
When folks stumble on this perceived “high-ground”, the first thing they want to do is build a fence around it. Next they move to carve out a moat so wide, no-one can cross it. Finally, they build their siege resistant castle — with walls 5ft thick.
They go to all this effort because they want to create what people call their “defensible marketing position”.
And it’s a lot of work!
The mistake people make is going to all that effort, without realizing their castle has a secret underground tunnel.
This is what happens when you build your castle around claims that are easy to replicate.
For each of your claims, you need to think — is this REALLY exclusive to me?
(You’d be surprised how many entrepreneur’s aren’t objective about the exclusivity of their offer.)
If it is exclusive — how hard does the competition need to work to penetrate your castle?
Do they have to cross your moat and batter down your 5-ft thick siege walls?
Or can a small crew of bandit raiders sneak in through the secret tunnel you didn’t even know existed?
In my Microbook — The Ultimate Reason Why Customers Choose You — I outline the process for identifying the claims that make your offer unique.
As part of the process, you need to rank each of your “Claims of Value” for Appeal and Exclusivity, on a scale of 1-5.
When ranking your claims for Exclusivity, you can only rank it as a 5 if only you can offer it now — or into the future.
Here’s the catch: in business, real exclusivity only comes in two forms.
As part of my process, I show my clients how to apply those two forms to their business.
To see how they apply to your business — check out my free Microbook:
The new season of House of Cards will be released on my productivity… like Mr. Burns’s releasing the hounds on the Springfield riff’raff. The one and only Kevin Spacey will be leading the lineup for the series that’s been a smashing success for company.
Numbers are hard to pin down, but from what I’ve gathered, it’s bagging Netflix an extra $200-400 million a year.
That’s incredible when you consider Netflix has only been producing original shows since 2013.
And it’s a looooong way from when Netflix first appeared.
Netflix has always been a sharp and savvy company.
Remember when had to sign up online, check off the movies you wanted to see, and then wait for them to show up in your mail?
“You mean… you’re gonna send me DVD rentals in the mail…?
… and I can hold onto them as long as I’d like… ?
… and you’re not gonna charge me late fees?!!”
MIND = BLOWN. Innovation — how daft it makes our older ways look, eh?
But Netflix has always been a sharp and savvy company.
They know what’s up.
They’ve consistently stayed one step ahead of the game, because they see where the ball is going.
How exactly do they do it, though?
Well, in short — they’re quick to “pivot” and they have absolute clarity into:
Who their ideal customer is
What their ideal customer wants
Their core USP has always remained the same:
Deliver couch potatoes the best selection of TV shows and movies possible, in the most convenient way possible.
Even though the company has changed dramatically, the USP has stayed the same.
It’s the specifics that’ve evolved.
And they recently evolved to a whole new level.
Let’s take a quick journey along the company’s main 3 stages of progression…
When you think back to it’s first mail-delivery form, convenience and novelty played a factor in their USP.
You could queue up a series of movies you knew you wanted to watch. And then they’d be drip fed to you without having to disrupt your regular schedule. Plus, it was a sweet surprise in the mail when your latest movie arrived.
You got to cut out the usual, “Ho, hum, — what will I rent this week from the local video store after I take 30-45 minutes out of my day to see what they have?”
They spotted the pain, and delivered a gain.
But their next iteration was the game-changer.
The low-cost, one-stop-shop streaming service.
Same USP, different delivery.
The magic was in ratio between “choices available” vs “monthly cost”. This was the main reason people chose them. While all the good/best shows weren’t available, you got the best choice out of anywhere else at an unbeatable price.
But now…
Now Netflix is moving towards world domination. Because Netflix is creating it’s own premium shows.
The USP is no longer just about convenience… or vast selection.
Now they’re amplifying the power of their USP by ratcheting up the Exclusivity.
You can’t get the latest season of House of Cards anywhere else. Or Narcos. Or Making a Murderer.
And that’s just talking about their big hitters…
Netflix now has 100+ unique titles. With another 88 planned over the next year.
Pretty soon people will only be buying Netflix because it’ll be the only place to watch the shows they want to watch.
If you want to channel the same success Netflix has achieved, follow their lead.
Tap into the core desire of your target market. Then evolve the specifics of your USP to deliver it in fresh ways, so you can stay one step ahead of the competition.
If you’d like to get more folks exclusively tuning into your USP, check out my simple guide below. It’s a 5-minute read and will show you how companies are getting on the fast track to success right now…
They produce amazing high quality courses. Their USP: Get the best in the world to teach a class on their craft.
Serena Williams teaches tennis. Usher teaches performance. James Patterson teaches writing. Dustin Hoffman teaches acting.
And this weekend they gave me early access to Kevin Spacey’s Masterclass on acting.
So, how does this relate to marketing?
Well, I happen to have purchased both Dustin Hoffman’s and Kevin Spacey’s acting Masterclasses…
Weird thing is, I’ve never felt the calling to become an actor — ever. Getting up on stage, pretending to be someone I’m not, scares the bejesus out of me.
But learning about acting from Dustin Hoffman? Kevin Spacey?!
I couldn’t help myself!
I eagerly purchased both courses, for two reasons:
I believe you can always learn something from the best about how they approach their craft.
There is no other place in the world I can learn from these two masters.
Let’s structure USP question and statement:
“If I’m a student who wants to learn about acting, why should I buy Kevin Spacey’s Masterclass on acting, rather than any other acting course?”
“… because it’s the only information product on acting that will ever be instructed by Kevin Spacey, one of the world’s greatest actors”
There’s onlyone Kevin Spacey.
And chances of him (or Dustin Hoffman) ever doing another acting course are pretty slim.
Which means his Masterclass is going to be the only acting course he ever releases.
That’s a powerful USP.
When you have former engineer, turned copywriter (who can’t even keep a pokerface while playing cards with his 8yr old niece), buying acting courses… it’s a prime example of the “Powerful Only Factor” in effect.
Today, you can see the secondary effects of perfectly lining up an ideal customer (with their primary want) directly in your sights: you pull in prospects beyond JUST your target.
If you’d like to get your own USP Masterclass in order, book some time for us to chat below:
We’re gonna look at of the biggest problems people face when working on their USP
I get to share one of the best lessons I ever learned from legendary copywriter, Gary Bencivenga
Let’s dive in!
Jonathan Riviera asks:
=====================================
I’m looking for some help with my USP.
The training (you) did was off the chain and now I’m trying to work through my USP.
This is my USP to my listeners – as to why they should listen to my podcast network.
I think I’m too close to this and I can’t really see what makes us special – so I figured I’d ask for your take on it to get some insight.
Thanks for your help.
=====================================
Jonathan also sent along the work he’d done on his Value Proposition Question, the details of which I’m going to keep confidential…
But I will share his Value Proposition Question because:
There’s no harm in it, and
There’s a big lesson for everyone to learn form it.
He sent in:
“If I am a business owner or marketer who listens to podcasts to learn more about business and marketing, why would I listen to the podcast factory network?”
In my experience, 90% of the problems with a USP can be fixed by nailing the Value Proposition Question.
The secret to getting it right is nailing the ideal customer.
Most folks think they know who their ideal customer is.
And I know Jonathan. He’s got marketing savvy. But he fell into the classic trap of folks working on their USP:
He’s aiming at more than one ideal customer.
(The word OR in a Value Proposition Question is a big hint)
This is what Gary Bencivenga refers to as “hunting with a shotgun.”
Now, I don’t hunt — but I want you to go through a little thought exercise with me to clarify what this means…
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re outside in the Great Wilderness of Canada — on the hunt.
And trying to bag yourself a deer because your family is starving.
(If you’re against hunting, don’t worry – it’s post-zombie-apocalypse, and you’ve run out of tinned food, so it’s ethically OK.)
You come across a small clearing and you spot two majestic bucks — with big ol’ antlers — just standing out in the open and munching on some leaves.
This is exactly the moment you’ve been waiting for, after tracking through the woods for the past 4 days.
They’re standing about 10 ft apart — and they’re clueless that you’re there.
(…because you stalked in downwind, you crafty bugger!)
Now, when you’re hunting with a shotgun approach, what you’re essentially doing is pointing your gun right between the two targets.
Your shot is off by 5ft in both directions. And you’re only hope of hitting something is the off chance that the buckshot from the rifle cartridge covers a large enough area to possible score a hit.
Even if some of the pellet spray hits, how effective is it?
Most of it just hits fresh air.
And how quickly did those two bucks just crash into the woods, never to be seen again?
The opposite of this is when you hunt with a rifle.
You focus on just one of the targets. You scope RIGHT in, and aim exactly where you want your shot to land.
Chances of you scoring a bullseye just became much higher.
Ask any marksman: When you get good enough, all you need is one shot.
So, my advice to Jonathan was to head back to the drawing board and figure out exactly who his “ideal” customer is.
Make sure you’re hitting that target first.
Then, shift your aim and bullseye the next ideal customer.
If you want to start tracking your sights on your ideal customer, fire me over a meeting request below. We can shoot the breeze about how to bag you a tasty USP.
Talk radio in Montreal is blowing up my kitchen speakers these days.
The hot topic lighting up the local airwaves is Bombardier — a local aerospace giant.
They’ve got the government strapped over a barrel for a $1 billion bail out. The money is needed to help salvage a botched airplane project, which, commentators say, has little hope of taking off.
Thing is, they employ a huge team of local people. So they’re seen by the local government as another one of those “too big to fail” scenarios.
It got me thinking about how and why companies (and products) fail.
My main man, Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, says you can always trace a company’s success back to:
A) The team
B) The company/product USP
It stands to reason that if you fail, it’s most likely because one of these two factors didn’t cut the mustard.
And there’s plenty of speculation in the media over which of these is as fault.
So, in honour of the local project that’s crashing and burning in my area code, let’s look at a few of the most common reasons people screw up their USP:
They improv their USP, time after time, whenever they need it — like on a sales call, or at a networking event.
They’ve never dedicated time to thinking through their USP, talking to their customers about it, and documenting the findings.
No one on their team can give a straight-forward answer to what their USP is. And everyone in their company gives a different answer.
The appeal and exclusivity of their claims are distorted by “owner bias” because everyone’s too close to see things clearly.
Their USP doesn’t have a “Powerful Only Factor”.
They don’t recognize their secret exclusivity claim (it’s often staring us in the face, but — alas — it remains invisible).
They don’t have a separate USP for each customer avatar.
They haven’t figured out what their customers really want.
They don’t educate their employees on the importance of the USP to the company.
So, there you have it… 9 ways everyday folks — including your competition — screw up their USP.
Knowing what the problems are is one thing. Fixing them is another.
Don’t worry though. It doesn’t have to be a painful fix… when you know what to do.
If you’d like to any of these problems in your business or product, jet on over to the link below.
It’ll let us setup a brief 20-minute chat, about how to banish these 9 problems from your business, for good:
For those of you who don’t know Deadpool, he’s Marvel’s greatest (and funniest) anti-hero.
He’s known as “The Merc with a mouth”.
And it’s his mouth (in part) that’s responsible for his first movie breaking all sorts of box office records in the past week.
(Just when everyone thought we were getting sick of those Marvel comic book movies, eh?)
Let me explain…
Well, Hollywood deez dayz makes sure comic book movies are PG rated, so you can bring the kids along.
Gotta chase dat family dollar, right?
Deadpool though, is anything BUT suitable for kids.
In fact, the marketing campaign for the movie went out of it’s way to CLEARLY message,
“This isn’t your standard hero movie – DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS!”
We’re talking swearing, in-appropriate sexual & social references, nudity, sex, blood, guts, and all sorts of hilariously offensive one-liners you DO NOT want your kids repeating anywhere in public…
… you know — all the good stuff you actually want to see in a movie.
Let’s map out the Value Prop question and USP statement quickly…
“If I’m a cinema go-er who wants to see a movie, why should I go and see Deadpool, rather than any other movie that’s out these days?”
“… because Deadpool is the first Marvel movie that’s not for kids. Like, seriously – don’t bring them.“
This creates a phenomenal USP for the movie because it creates massive expectation.
There’s a bunch of other geeky sub-USPs for comic book nerds — which I won’t go into. But all you need to recognize is that for the mass market of Marvel movie goers, this USP hits that sweet spot of Appeal and Exclusivity.
As long as the product delivers an entertaining experience for folks lashing out the cash, then it has that magic combination of:
A USP people want
A USP being delivered in force
When these two start bubbling up together in the mixing pot of the market, that’s when rave reviews start flying around and word-of-mouth starts moving feet.
Now, exactly how long Deadpool’s Appeal and Exclusivity last, is another question…
My guess though, is that when you’re breaking box office records today, it’s a question you can afford to answer tomorrow.
PS – If you’re looking to break your own personal sales records, let’s talk about how to turn your USP into a hero here:
PPS – On the fee and commitment side of things, I am looking to build out a number of USP development case studies in the month of March.
If you’d like a great deal on having me officially help you on your USP, drop a blog comment with (include your email) and say “I’m interested!” — then I’ll fire over the details.
I’m only working with 4 folks though, and 2 places have already been taken. So if you are interested, act quick.
Not because my lovely lady is half way around the world. But because Environment Canada issued an extreme cold warning this weekend. We’re talking -27 degrees Celsius.
Or I as like to call it, “Stay the hell inside, you lunatic!” weather.
“Where are you going, you lunatic?”
Hiding away from the freeze, I’ve been flicking through the ol’ Fayshbook.
Funny how it’s full of love and togetherness.
“Look how amazing my man/woman is!”
Bullshit.
The only reason this wall of puke inducing cuteness exists is because anyone suffering a shred of loneliness (on this, the loneliest day in the year for most people) is keeping it to themselves.
True fact: for every one person posting a life highlight on Facebook, there’s another 50 trudging through horrendous pain.
So, I figured, how better to spend Valentine’s Day (separated from mah lovah) than solving romantic woes with my marketing savvy!!
“What??! Does this heartless, soul-sucking marketer think he can give advice on the romantic human condition? Take your sales nonsense and get out of here, you phoney!”
Well, forget for a moment that Valentine’s Day is probably the most successful marketing project — ever…
Let’s look at romance just from the perspective of choice.
The way I see it, finding love is the journey of two people deciding to choose each other.
And, as one of mentor’s Felicia Spahr taught me, there’s a TON of similarities between the romance and marketing game.
What is a headline, but a pick-up line?
It’s only purpose is to get attention and start a conversation.
Another similarity is that gradual nurturing of the relationship is key to success in both areas.
Jump too far ahead in the process and you’re toast.
Ever try popping the big ol’ marriage question on the second date?
I’m sure the conversion rate on that offer is prett-y, prett-y, prett-y, prett-y, prett-y poor.
Yet, this is exactly what SO many people do online with their market – diving straight in with “BUY NOW!”
So, why do so many people have a hard time finding love?
Well, my theory is this:
Their romantic USP sucks.
Let’s look at the romantic Value Proposition Question:
“If I am looking for a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/hookup, why should I choose you, rather than anyone else?”
How many people have ever examined themselves with this question?
The belief is:
“There’s someone out there for everyone.”
But what happens if you meet that person and your Romantic USP blows?
How many opportunities slip you by because you don’t have the right answer to why someone should choose you?
Let’s lay out exactly why most people fail at this game.
It boils down to 3 things:
1) People have no idea who their “ideal romantic customer” is
Just like in business, we often take whatever’s floating by and just happens to enter our world.
“Keep your options open” = casting a widely spread net, as we try not to limit our choices by excluding part of the market.
Unfortunately, this rarely leads to results in business. Why should results in romance be any different?
How many of us have spent any time thinking about the exact kind of partner we’d like to attract?
How many of us just float from partner to partner, getting chosen, instead of going out and choosing?
If you don’t know who you want to attract, it’s hard to craft a strong reason for why they should choose you.
2) They have no idea what their ideal romantic customer wants
This is one of the biggest problems I see when helping businesses with their USP.
Because people don’t really know who they’re talking to, they can’t really define exactly what the person wants.
There are the obvious base-level needs like friendship, shelter, food, security, sex etc..
But what — specifically — does the partner you’re trying to attract want in their partner?
And how are you working toward providing that to them?
3) They have no idea who their competition actually is
Lastly, people have no idea what choices their ideal partner has to choose from.
It’s very easy to think that the competition is vastly superior, but what do they really have to offer?
And what is it that they can’t offer?
What’s appealing and exclusive about you?
So many of us fall into the trap of thinking that just because something’s not COMPLETELY unique to us, it doesn’t apply.
Here’s a tickler: I’m not the only guy on the planet with red hair and an Irish accent.
That didn’t stop it from working like gangbusters whenever I was on the pull outside Ireland.
(Or as I like to call it, “when I’m exotic”)
Just ask mah lady!
So, lesson today — if you’re looking for love — have a hard think about what your romantic USP is.
If you’ve already found love and want to hold onto it, have a think about the USP that got you there.
Are you still delivering?
Like I said, there’s a lot of similarities between business and love.
If you’d like to talk about how to get yourself, your company or your product chosen more often, hit me up below and we can chat:
Back when I was working in B2B Software Marketing, I had a pretty hefty commute. We’re talking about an hour and a half each way. Every day.
My mode of transport?
BMW.
(Bus. Metro. Walk.)
Where I worked was also a pretty dispersed area, meaning you needed a car to get anywhere.
If you wanted to get something for lunch, your choices were stuffed unless you scored a ride with someone else from the office to hit a food court.
A good buddy of mine though, lived in the hood.
We had worked at the same company a few years before — only he had the sense to get out and work for himself long before I did.
To stay in touch, we’d regularly go for bro-unch.
Luckily, he had a car. Which meant there were approximately 6 breakfast joints within striking distance whenever we wanted to get some mid-day grub in.
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty big fan of brunch.
I take it seriously.
I don’t settle for any old slop.
Anytime I’m going in, it’s basically for late breakfast. I’m not one of those weirdos who orders from the lunch menu when brunch is on the cards.
(If this is you, please take a long hard look in the mirror.)
I’m talking bacon, eggs, potatoes, sausages and toast.
With a cuppa tea.
Like most normal people, right?
Now, if you possess my crazy engineering counting skills, you’ll agree that’s 6 components to the standard breakfast.
If you factor in other components that determine a good eating experience — like travel time, wait time, service, & cost — that’s a nice round 10 components to consider before choosing which breakfast to eat.
That’s a lot of things playing into the equation.
And that’s how most business owners see their businesses.
A bunch of service or product components, all playing a big role in how customers perceive them.
But in reality, there was only 1 component — above all others — that factored into where we’d go each time:
How good the breakfast potatoes were.
Finely cooked spuds were reason numero uno in determining whether we’d be haunting your doorway, or ghosting out the back door.
Out of the 6 places that were potentially on the cards each week, we’d only visit 2 of them.
Both had amazing breakfast potatoes.
One place specialized in a mashy type of shpud. The other specialized in a crispy type.
We both preferred the mashy type, which meant that 80% of the time, we went to one restaurant.
What’s interesting is this: the place we frequented the most was the furthest, most expensive, and had the longest waiting times.
3 exclusive claims. None very appealing.
But the magnitude of the appeal behind the one key decision factor was enough to overwrite everything else.
It’s funny, because we used to visit a third place on rotation — until they changed ownership. The genius new owners decided it would be a good idea to mess with one vital part of the menu.
You guessed it: the breakfast potatoes.
(Their business has since almost tanked.)
So, how does this apply to your business?
Well, consider this…
Another restaurant in the same area could have gone out of it’s way to get the best bacon, the best toast and the best eggs. Even after all that work, it STILL wouldn’t have made any difference in influencing our decision.
Remember: You always have to look at your business with customer logic.
Amping up the exclusivity in secondary claims of value isn’t nearly as powerful as nailing the appeal for what the customer REALLY wants.
I call this “The Breakfast Potatoes Theory” to USPs.
Figure out what your breakfast potatoes are. And make them exclusively the best in one dimension.
If you’d like to chat about identifying what the breakfast potatoes are in your customer’s world, hop on over to the link below and book some time to chat:
At the end of 2015 I spent 3 weeks at home in Ireland for Christmas.
‘Twas my first time home for Christmas in 5 years. That’s a looooong bloody time. So long, I almost forgot how good the Guinness tastes back home.
(Almost.)
It’s pretty well known around the world that we Irish like our drink.
And if we’re known for one drink, more than any other, it’s Guinness.
“The Creamy Black Stuff”, as it’s fondly known.
Our international reputation as surprisingly functional alcoholics means many a person will instantly up their drinking game the second they come into contact with an Irish person.
Or the second they step into an Irish bar.
It’s a weird phenomenon to witness, but, all of a sudden, when you’re within striking distance of anything Irish, it’s party time!
Thing is, Guinness is a strange drink for most people.
It’s technically a stout. And stouts aren’t all that popular or common in comparison to other beers. Mainly because they’re heavy and can taste a bit manky if you’re not used to them.
But that doesn’t stop folks from ordering them in a right snappy fashion the second they find themselves in Irish territory!
“Sure, I’ll try one of those — when in Rome, eh?”
Why is it that?
Well, it’s because to “foreigners”, Guinness is the most Irish drink they know.
So when they’re deciding to live a little — enjoying the brief spark of joy in that small Irish moment — it’s the obvious choice.
(And it’s no wonder – Guinness’s marketing is amazing. But that’s a story for another day.)
‘Tis a different story in Ireland. When you go to order stout on the Emerald Isle, there are 3 main options you’ll be greeted with:
Guinness
Murphy’s
Beamish
Beamish is about 50c cheaper per pint.
So, the answer to it’s Value Proposition Question:
“If I want a pint of stout, why should I buy Beamish, rather than any of it’s competitors?”
…is…
“… because Beamish is the cheapest Irish stout, so you can get more pints in for your 20 euro”
A simple, yet very effective Unique Selling Proposition.
Beamish though, happens to taste like absolute muck.
So, if you’re any sort of a self respecting human being, you really only have two remaining options.
Now, I come from a place in Ireland called County Cork.
Cork is a fiercely proud part of Ireland, where the local population have a reputation for thinking we’re better than everyone else.
Murphy’s also happens to be made in Cork.
So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a lot of people in Cork will choose Murphy’s over Guinness, simply because it’s made in Cork.
Why?
Because “Made in Cork” is a claim that’s both Appealing and Exclusive to the regular Corkonian. In many corners, that’s reason enough for Murphy’s to be chosen.
“But, Ross — tell us — which tastes better?”
“And is it possible to tell the difference if your life (or reputation) depended on it?”
Believe it or not, this conversation came up over Christmas.
Logically, the only way to arrive at the answer was to thrown down in public, with the Irish equivalent of the “Pepsi-Coke Challenge”…
INTRODUCING
“The Guinness-Murphy’s Challenge”
The One Drink To Rule Them All
(Or make you look a little foolish in front of your friends)
The rules are simple.
You have to blind taste 2 pints of stout, which are handed to you by the group.
Either time, it can be Guinness or Murphy’s.
There’s no guarantee you’ll get both drinks.
Each contestant must correctly identify which drink is which.
As an Irish person, the stakes in this game are high.
We’re a tricky people, so not only do you have figure out which drink is which, but you have to figure out if your friends are trying to fool you.
Not being able to identify your preferred choice would mean opening the door to a brutal slagging from everyone else in the bar.
The Guinness Murphy’s Challenge – Correctly identify which stout is which, or suffer a serious dose of holy mortification (If you look closely in the picture in the bottom left, my friends handed me a glass of water. They weren’t fooling anyone).
Of the 5 people who took part, 2 got it wrong. Which means they called their own choice o’drink by the other brand’s name.
“Mortified for your mother!”
So, even though they couldn’t tell the difference in taste, they still had their reasons for choosing.
Takeaway: Your Unique Selling Proposition, why people choose you, isn’t always about your product. No matter how much you want that to be the case.
If you’d like to chat about the factors that go into why people choose you, your product, or your company, click the link below.
We can organize a quiet, friendly chat — like we’re just down the pub:
This, ultimately, was for just 13 seconds of wild entertainment.
That comes out to about $230 per second.
Now, you might think that seems like a lot. And, I’ll be honest, it is. But would you think I’m crazy if I told you I’d spend it again in a heartbeat?
Of course, the location of this manic spending was none other than Las Vegas.
The event: UFC 194.
The biggest fight night of the year.
Where my fellow Irishman, Conor McGregor, would face off against the reigning, defending, undefeated, featherweight champion of the world:
Jose Aldo.
In the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), there hadn’t been another fight as hyped as this fight. After being built up with an extensive marketing push for over a year, including 2 world tours and a reschedule due to injury, the fight was finally happening. Just in time to ring out the end of 2015.
For the company running the show — the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) — this was expected to be their biggest payday, ever.
And it was BONKERS.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Vegas.
Before last July — when I first went to see McGregor fight — I’d never been.
I’d only heard whispers through friends of the absolute madness that went on there — be it for stag parties, lads’ weekends or good ol’ conference “networking”.
The funny thing was, while I was there, the whole of Sin City acted like they’d never seen the Irish before.
To be honest, Vegas didn’t know what hit it.
The town was Green.
We’re a funny people, the Irish. If there’s one thing we do, it’s leave an impression.
And Vegas didn’t quite know what to do with 10,000 Irish fight fans cheering, chanting, and singing our boy to victory.
Conor McGregor — for those of you who don’t know him — is a brash, cocky, loudmouthed showman. He’s also the biggest star in the UFC, who has catapulted himself to international fame by doing two things:
1) Saying what he’s going to do — loudly, proudly, and with sugar coating on it.
2) Going out and doing exactly what he said he was going to do.
So, when he said he was going knock out Jose Aldo — who hadn’t been beaten in 10 years — there were a lot of folks doubting him.
To stir the pot even further (as we Irish like to do) Conor confidently predicted he was going to put his opponent away within 1 round (a humiliating defeat).
Something that had never done to Jose. Ever.
So, when Conor knocked Jose out with his first punch — 13 seconds into the fight — the reaction of the entire arena was electric.
The Irish fans screamed with delight, overtaken with the adrenaline fuelled joy.
The doubters sat there, slack jawed in disbelief, crumpling their useless betting slips between their white knuckles.
And the rest of the crowd just stood and cheered because of the sheer brilliance of the performance.
There wasn’t a single person who didn’t care about the result in the building.
Everyone had chosen a side.
Everyone was invested in the result.
Why?
Because Conor McGregor is a master of marketing.
He’s a man who has crafted many Unique Selling Propositions for himself. He has given everyone who comes across him a compelling reason to choose him.
Each one differs, depending on who his ideal customer is.
For the 10,000 Irish Fans there, they chose to follow Conor McGregor because he’s the first ever successful Irish UFC Fighter
For the doubters, they chose to follow Conor McGregor because they wanted to be there when finally got defeated.
And for all the rest, they chose to follow Conor McGregor because he’s the most boldest and most exciting fighter in mixed martial arts today.
That’s why, while I was spending $250 per second to watch the fight, Conor was earning $1.3 million PER SECOND during that exact same time.
(His earnings were about $16 million for the whole event.)
Not bad work if you can find it, eh?
If you’d like to get a better handle on your USP — and nail down exactly why your customers should choose you — head on over to this link and let’s get ready to rumble:
“Where are you going, you lunatic?”
