Discovering My Unique Selling Proposition

This is Day 12 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge. Today’s challenge? Discovering what sets me apart from the crowd: My Unique Selling Proposition or USP.

Natalie provided the following questions to help with discovering your USP. Here goes:

What am I better at than anyone else?

For starters, I’m better at being me than anyone else. There is only one me, so I might as well capitalize on that.

Secondly, I do have skills that others don’t, including the unique ability to fix things, whether they are physical or those based on digital ones and zer0s. I read instructions, too. Do you?

Oftentimes, my ability to fix things isn’t tied to what I already know. I generally have to research the problem and act on what I learn. For some reason, this is hard for a lot of people, but not for me. Go figure.

What do I enjoy doing the most?

Frankly, I really enjoy fixing things and creating things. When it comes to fixing things, see 1, above, for details.

I love to create new things, but I am not a great visionary when it comes to designing something from scratch. Rather, I look at a lot of things that already exist, learn from what I see, and then create something based on what I have learned.

For example, if I want to create a new website, I first study a LOT of other websites. For the most part, they are not in the same genre or niche as what I am creating. I just love looking at designs, layouts, text fonts, colors, spacing, logos and more.

In Austin Kleon’s words, I like to Steel Like an Artist.

What do (or can) I provide that no one else is providing?

The perspective of a 50 plus guy who is fit and healthy, a research junky, straight, married and boring.

Want to know something funny? I actually live in Boring, Oregon. Yes, that IS a real place!

What annoys people the most about my industry or blog area?

They have a hard time finding information they need. Even when they do, it is often hard to understand or it is not very actionable.

What is remarkable about me?

I’m the same size I was in high school, 32 years ago. I can outwork most teenagers and 20-somethings. I have a knack for quickly finding answers when others can’t. I often ask so many questions that it irritates some people (need to work on that). Plus, I love to speak in front of a crowd.

When I was 45, my high school classmates asked me to be the keynote speaker at a ceremony renaming our high school auditorium in honor of our band director.

NOTE: If you have never watched Mr. Holland’s Opus, do it. Richard Dryfus’s character was just like my band director.

Anyway, I had a handful of my classmates approach me after the ceremony to ask if I speak for a living. That was quite a surprise since I have never spoken professionally. Hmm. Maybe this is a little clue. It’s time to do more speaking and teaching?

Do you have an unusual combination of elements?

As far as I know, I am composed of 28 elements, including the “big six” (oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus). That’s not what you meant, right?

How about these: Analytical. Inquisitive. Serious. Musical. Dramatic. Generous. Trustworthy.

Do you have a big personality?

Not particularly. Although, people do tend to pay attention when I talk.

So, what’s my USP?

I am unique and different because I am a fit, healthy, 50-plus adult with a love of learning and a rabid appetite for research. When I learn something new, I can teach it to others with patience and as much detail as necessary.

“Why should I choose to do business with you, over all the other choices I have, which includes doing nothing?” Dan Kennedy

“Lifetime Learner + Rabid Researcher = Solutions for You.” Gee, that’s really exciting, Pat. Great job. Ugh.

Why is this so hard?

Because it is really important. And important stuff often takes a great deal of effort. Blood, sweat and tears, as they say. (who are “they,” anyway?)

Then it hit me. Good old T.R. to the rescue.

“I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.” Theodore Roosevelt

My USP: I am every man. The sum total of average. What is truly remarkable is that I can use my average-ness as a means for sneaking up on other average folk to teach them something I have learned.

No, that may not sound brilliant, but it is so true for me.

I know stuff. A lot of stuff. I learn quickly. Really quickly. People trust me. And they should.

If I was a stuffed shirt trying to shove my brilliance down someone else’s throat, that wouldn’t go over so well. Instead, I blend in to the crowd and share when it is appropriate. Teaching what I know when it is appropriate to do so and when it will benefit those who want to learn.

Have I missed the boat? Please let me know your thoughts.