Have you ever noticed that lots of Ads look very similar? Well the reason for this is very simple, a lot of marketing people are lazy and just prefer to copy what everybody else seems to be doing. Sales people are frequently the same when they join a company. They listen to other sales people and copy a lot of what they say and how they pitch to prospects. This is such a pity because even if we modify a selling process by 10 or 20 percent results can be significantly different. Here are a few useful ways to stand out from the competition:

1. Branding

These days you need to be different for people to notice you. There are thousands of people who market using the same language, tactics, techniques & methods of persuasion or whatever you want to call them. Buyers are often very bored with these messages and they are looking for something different. You can be that person if you put your personality into your selling. Don't be afraid to be sincere by showing a small chink in your armoury. In most cases this will not harm your image as it makes you more believable. In fact showing small imperfections makes you more likeable and people will find it easier to connect with you.

2. USP

The unique selling proposition is still valid today even though the concept came about over fifty years ago. People are overwhelmed with choice in the buyer's market today and they need some help as to why they should choose you as the solution to their needs. You just have to do one particular thing so much better than the competition that they will not be able to copy it. I recently saw an info product for sale by the highly successful marketer Dan Kennedy. He was offering a 365 day money back guarantee. Most of the competition was offering 30 days or 60 days if you were lucky. Who would have the courage to offer a 365 day warranty without fearing lots of refunds? Well in reality this is quite clever because most people will have forgotten about the refund after a couple of months anyway. This is beside the point because it still stands out from the competition and makes his warranty different and better than all the others out there.

3. Extraordinary Customer Service

Customer loyalty is obviously very important in terms of customer retention and one of the best ways to lose a customer is though poor service. The opposite of this is to treat customers with the "highest respect" and more if possible. This will not only maximise customer retention, it will make customers feel like they want to promote you. The beauty of this lies in the fact that they'll often do it without any form of compensation. What a dream if you could have your own little army of sales people doing all the hard work to build your customer base. Okay, maybe that's a little bit exaggerated but I think you get my drift. Unfortunately excellent customer service doesn't come naturally to everyone but it can certainly be taught. It's just another one of those skills that you can add to your repertoire.

4. Do the Opposite of What Everybody Else is Doing

This one requires lots of courage because it can be very risky. Now the mere fact that it's risky logically means that less people are prepared to do it and therefore, if it works, it can work really well. When you copy everybody else in the world of selling you become like a sort of "white noise" and you can easily fall into the category of the "unnoticeable!" So what exactly can we do that's so dramatically different from our competition? Well one of the easiest ways to be different is to start using your own vocabulary. Choose certain distinctive words that will make you come across as the expert in your field. Why is this so effective? It's so effective because hardly anybody else is doing it. If you meet with clients do the same with your sense of dress. When it comes to clothing I would choose one item that is particularly striking. This could be a colourful tie or a distinctive watch. The more courageous and different you are, the more you will capture your prospect's attention.