Let’s first start with: What is a Value Proposition anyway?
You hear people throw the concept around, but you know it’s not a tagline or a slogan. So, what is it and how does it benefit you, your business, your customers, and as a salesperson, selling to your prospects?
A value proposition is simply a promise of value to be delivered to your customer base. It’s the primary reason a prospect should and will want to buy from you.
The value proposition will exhibit what your company’s values are. It will display how you want your prospects and your customers to know you? How your company conducts its business. It easily states what your company believes in.
Your value proposition should be in the language directed for the customer. It should join the conversation that’s already going on in the customer’s mind. It’s so important to direct it towards your prospect and your clientele and not your peer group.
It is a statement above all that will guide the right market into wanting to buy from you. They will quickly know that you have a product or service they want in order to solve their problems when they can understand your value proposition.
Some Helpful Tips on Creating Your VP
When you are ready to use your value proposition in your sales efforts, review what it has in place. It should have a variety of items to make the best value proposition come together and be of actual value in and of itself. This is a quick list of the qualities your value statement should have and that should be understood by the sales team.
Relevancy – Explain how your product or service solves customers’ problems or improves their situation. It needs to be appropriate for their needs in the first place. Remember, not the companies needs or features.
Quantified Value – Deliver specific benefits about your business or product. How will these benefits make your customer’s life better?
Differentiation – Tell the ideal customer why they should buy from you and not from the competition. How do you do it differently and most importantly, how does your unique difference do the job better? This isn’t really about price. Think deeper. How do you do it better?
What the Value Proposition is Not
Some salespeople and businesses will make a mistake and think the business slogan or catchphrase is their value proposition. These other pieces of content might have been developed from your value proposition, certainly, but let me reference some examples of each to give you a better idea of what a value proposition truly is so you can use it in your sales exchanges.
Nike – Slogan/Catchphrase: Just Do It. This is catchy and speaks to people. It’s quick and easy to remember. But it doesn’t really touch on much about who they are as a business or what they have to offer. The slogan is not the company’s value proposition.
Nike – Value Proposition: The business Cleverism said it well, “Nike offers four primary value propositions: accessibility, innovation, customization, and brand/status.
The company creates accessibility by offering a wide variety of options. It has acquired numerous footwear and apparel firms since its founding, including Converse and Hurley International. These actions have enabled it to expand its product lines, giving consumers more to choose from.
The company places a strong emphasis on innovation. It maintains the Nike Explore Team Sport Research Lab at its headquarters, a research facility focused on designing cutting-edge products. It also operates the Nike Advanced Product Creation Center, focused on technology incorporation….” Read more.
Did you know they were about more than athletic shoes?
Your Value Proposition Is Also Not A Positioning Statement – A positioning statement is something geared at describing and defining your target market. Who are your customers? It can also be developed from your value proposition. You could certainly pull ideas from your value proposition to develop this area of your business’s promo materials. And it can be a valuable piece of business content for your team. However, it is not your value proposition.
What Makes A Good Value Proposition?
So, let’s break it down some more.
Clarity! – It’s easy to understand. Keep it simple. What is the business you’re in? What are your customers buying? What are they looking for?
Benefits – Your value proposition communicates the concrete results your customer will get from purchasing and using your products or services. How does your product or service satisfy your clients’ needs? What will the experience be when working with you?
Your business value proposition says how your business offerings are different or better than the competitor’s offer. How do you want to stand out? How do you want people to remember you? Your value proposition will look deep to show why your company is most appealing.
No Hype – Your best value proposition avoids hype or exaggeration. For example, skip things like “Never seen before!” or “Amazing miracle product!” unless this is something you can substantiate. Avoid, superlatives like “best” and business jargon like “value-added interactions” or “move-the-needle”. If you need to use these types of phrases, reconsider the value or the product altogether. Give it some more thought.
Read Quickly – Your value proposition can be read quickly and understood without in-depth thought or research. Keep it to a few sentences for public ease.
Your best value proposition is going to explain how your products solve problems and improves your customer’s situations. It’s going to talk about what specific benefits your customers can expect and why customers should buy from you over the competitors.
Your Company’s Value Proposition
To give you a better understanding of how those pieces go together consider several templates devised by a few specialists. How does your company’s value proposition play out in comparison to these samples?
Geoff Moore’s Value Proposition Statement Template. Moore was a sales executive and consultant in the tech industry and wrote a helpful book titled “Crossing the Chasm, Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers” He gives a breakdown to get ideas moving. Take a quick look at his suggestion. It can give you a good reference to understand your own company value proposition:
- For [target customer] who [statement of the need or opportunity], our [product/service name] is [product category] that [statement of benefit].
Steve Blank Value Proposition Statement Template. Entrepreneur and professor in business has another suggestion. The XYZ layout.
- We help [X] to [Y] by [Z].
Customer – Problem Solution Template.
- Customer: [who your target audience is] Problem: [what problem you’re solving for the customer] Solution: [what is your solution to the problem]
Using Your VP To Sell More
A good sales leader makes sure that their salespeople can effectively emphasize value propositions related to the ideal customer target in all forms of communications with prospects. Salespeople have a considerable number of ways they will interact with prospects and customers during the workday.
- Face-to-face Meetings
- Send Emails
- Respond to Product and Service Inquiries
- Make Elevator Pitches
- Interact with Colleagues at Networking Events
- Offline Impromptu Meetings with Prospects and Others in Their Community
- Promotions
It’s critical that the sales team has thought through EXACTLY what is of value to their prospect when communicating with them. Touching on what their clients truly want and comparing that with the business value proposition helps match the benefits to the offer.
Often salespeople emphasize features instead of focusing on the value proposition that will impact the customer. Make sure to spotlight what the value proposition brings to light for the business and how it alights just right with the customer’s needs.
Having a well-thought-out value proposition is vital to sharing the company’s brilliance with those that meet up with that idea. A strong understanding of this value proposition can maximize your communication with your prospects and clientele.
Your salespeople will be able to acknowledge questions and provide an accurate response when driven by a clear and smart value proposition.
Win Big When You Use Your VP For Sales
Your business’s value proposition can be incorporated into everything you do. Strategically narrow down the nuance of your value proposition and it can be integrated into smaller bits of marketing content to show social proof and validity:
- Social Media Marketing Content and Mastheads
- Taglines
- Email Newsletters and Updates
- Leadpages
- Business Cards
- Networking Talks
- Print or Online Promotions
Sharing your value proposition message keeps the business at the forefront of a prospects or client’s mind. It can help build validity, legitimacy, and brand awareness. The value proposition will draw in people who need just what is offered by your product or service. Tying this into your day will help pull together a sense of rapport over time as well as you share it and use it. People will think, “Oh, they are the people that…”
When your sales team heads out to interact with their prospects and customers, they want a general idea of how the product or services matches with what the customer is looking for. (Or maybe doesn’t even know they are looking for it yet!)
This process of understanding will greatly help narrow down who a prospect even is in the first place. Making calls or reaching out as the first onset of a sales process is best when it’s head-on with people that can easily match up with what your business has to offer. It’s a perfect match when the value proposition and client connect.
Practicing applying and using the value proposition in the sales process as well as in the team interaction can help make the value proposition fluid to the sales process. The more the value proposition is incorporated in the sales and marketing items listed above and used with communications on a day-to-day basis, the more it will become a way of life as well. The value proposition will resonate as a belief. The values will be well understood and that will make it easier to portray correctly.
The value proposition is a powerful tool you can use to share. It tells your prospects the value of what you and your business have to offer. Why would you not want to use that as often as you could.
Understanding and Using Your VP for Sale
You need to find what sets you apart and what brings your customer’s value. Once you really know this, you can stop talking about you and the company and start listening to what your prospect is telling you. You can start sharing with your possible customer what’s in it for them, what you and your business can do for them, and how that is different than the next company.
What are your salespeople’s prospects struggling within their business, life, and day? And how will your service or product help solve this problem for them? What is your unique approach, style, or ability?
Maybe you can give result narratives? Stories of how others have struggled and been helped by your business? Your business has something only it can offer to make the experience better. Your salespeople need to understand this and share it in a way that connects or bridges the gap, so prospects also understand and appreciate it.
Sharing Your Value Proposition as A Salesperson
When your salespeople go out on a call or reach prospects on the phone, do they realize the best time to share what your business is about and when to explain your value proposition? First understanding the prospect’s issues is what needs to take precedence before discussing what your company has to offer.
If your sales team members can have a conversation with their prospect regarding their current situation, they will be able to decipher if your business can help them. Have they decided they are tired of their existing conditions? Do they even know what’s out there and how valuable your product or service can be to their everyday life?
When your prospects understand their own pain points and how much better their lives and businesses can be, then you can discuss the value your business can bring to them. And how you stand out among others in your industry to make their problem better or even go away entirely.
When presenting your business solution offering to your prospects it is important to understand a few basic things:
- What is the product or service your business is selling?
- What is the end benefit for your customer?
- Who is the real target audience?
- What sets you apart from others in the industry?
- Can you tell your prospects how amazing they will feel?
From here, your value proposition will give good direction if you and the customer will be a good fit.
The Value Proposition for Salespeople – When you want to stand out and deliver a great product or service, a value proposition will help you get there. When you want to prove you’re a great connection to your customer and prospect, consider showing off your value propositions. It defines your business and what your product or service has to offer to make your clientele happy.
Ready to Up Your Sales Game?!
Professional development is the hallmark of exceptional leadership. Having an environment where you can gain new insights with a group of your peers is a must. A place where you can lean on fellow peers for advice, objective viewpoints, and gain insights is invaluable.
- If you want to interact directly with other top sales leaders and learn from shared experiences.
- If you have a considerable interest in gaining insight and perspective from other influencers outside your own circle.
- If you enjoy learning from experts on evolving and emerging topics within your field.
