What must your potential customers be convinced of so that they want to buy from you rather than your competitor?

1. Find a Niche

Most people will choose a specialist over a generalist every time—and usually pay more too. So rather than being a general painter, specialize in interiors. Instead of being a life coach for anyone in transition, help people transition after a divorce. Rather than sell furniture online, sell only kids bedroom furniture.

2. Choose a Narrow Target Market

My chiropractor specializes in helping triathletes. I know a bookkeeper who works with only law firms. And a real estate agent who specializes in helping clients with pets. As a consultant, I’ve long specialized in small businesses with0-10 employees. Doing this doesn’t mean you can’t take other clients or do other kinds of work. Chances are you’re going to get people from outside your target market (or niche) anyway. For example: even though I’m not a triathlete, I am an athlete. I love my chiropractor because he understands what an athlete needs to rehab injuries versus a couch potato. If you paint an interior and do a great job, the client may want you to paint an exterior too…

3. Create a Package

Instead of selling consulting by the hour, bundle a set number of hours with email consulting and sell them up front at a discount. Or combine a product with a service by adding in an ebook. Make this even more effective by giving your package a unique name.

4. Offer a Guarantee

Most small business owners—especially service providers—are terrified of offering guarantees. But they can be a great way to set you apart, and at the same time make prospects more confident about doing business with you. Besides, if you’ve got terrific products or services, you should have no problem standing behind them. As a copywriter, I guaranteed my clients results from my work or I’d rewrite for free. Dominoes Pizza got their start with “delivered in30 minutes or it’s free”.

The bottom line is that if you’re ready to stand out from your competition, give your prospects a solid reason to choose you with a powerful USP.