DAVE HERSHMAN
RECRUITING CORNER
Recruiting Key—Your Unique Selling Proposition Know what makes your company unique to attract new hires BY DAVE HERSHMAN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL
T
he ability to summarize your benefits in a short statement is typically called a “USP” or Unique Selling Proposition. It is also sometimes called an “elevator speech” because you are imagined being in an elevator and someone asking the question – What do you do? You must answer in full before the elevator door opens. It makes sense that, to attract candidates, you really have to answer the all-important question – why should I come to work for your company? With all the other choices out there, what makes your company unique? If you can’t answer this question easily, then you will have to compete within the areas where most other companies compete:
• What is your commission plan? • What is your pricing like? • Do you have every product under the sun? Thus, this step is extremely important unless you have the best commission, the lowest pricing and every product. The key to marketing is to differentiate yourself from the competition in a positive manner. For a manager, recruiting requires all the steps of marketing and this one is essential.
EASY COMMUNICATION Here are a few rules for developing your USP: • It must be easily communicated. If it takes you an hour to describe your USP, your opportunity for marketing and connecting will be very limited. You should be able to do this in seconds, not hours. • It must be factual and specific. Everyone says they have a low rate or deliver quality service. Broad statements such as these are worthless. If you are focusing on service, for example, what is
your average approval time? Are you surveying your consumers and agents and have you compiled statistics to demonstrate your satisfaction ratings? • When you don’t have facts… use testimonials, or social proof. Statements from your customers, employees and vendors are absolutely essential to establish credibility for your statements. • Tie it to the interest of your candidates. Like mortgage marketing, true value lies in the interests of your targets. What you are interested in is not paramount. Most candidates will be interested in two things: • Increasing their income; and • Lowering their stress levels at the same time. • You must recognize why you are unique. Your experience, education, and skills and more, are all part of what makes you a unique manager. Your unique ability to help your candidates increase their production and
“Your unique ability to help your candidates increase their production and lower the stress levels in their life are paramount.”
