A few months ago I listened to the Nightingale Conant audio course “Piranha Marketing” by Joe Polish. For this post I will share the concept of the ‘Unique Selling Point’ and how it applies in the world of magic.
Joe teaches having a ‘Unique Selling Point’ or ‘USP.’ Joe says a USP is a precise statement of why your business is special. It should answer the question “Why should I do business with you versus any and all of your competitors, including not doing anything at all?”
One USP example Joe gives is the one from Domino’s Pizza: “Fresh, Hot Pizza Delivered to Your Door in 30 Minutes or Less.”
When it comes to magicians, my favorite USP was Dai Vernon’s: “The Man Who Fooled Houdini.” How’s that for unique? It’s so unique that no other magician in history can make the same claim.
The Man Who Fooled Houdini
After thinking about Vernon’s USP I realized that an excellent USP should accomplish 3 things:
- It accurately describes what you do – as Joe Polish teaches
- It differentiates you from everyone else in your industry (if it is truly unique)
- It triggers a chain reaction of questions from a person who hears/reads it: “You really fooled Houdini?” or “There’s got to be a story behind that statement, let’s hear it.” or “Ok, this guy must be good, let’s see what he can do.”
When I was considering what to use for my USP I came up with “Memorable Moments of Joy” but I soon decided against it. Any magician halfway decent is able to provide “Memorable Moments of Joy” – that is more like a Generic Selling Point rather than a Unique Selling Point.
I ended up deciding to hold off on creating my USP for now. Hopefully one day in my magic career I will have a remarkable story that will be the genesis of my USP.
As for modern day magician’s, I really like Steve Cohen’s USP – “The Millionaire’s Magician.”
Do you have a USP? If so please share it in a comment or share any USP that caught your attention.