What do you do?
The most frequently asked cocktail party question of all time.
The answer is especially important if you are in sales because it offers an opportunity to introduce your value proposition.
Your value proposition answers the most important question in professional selling:
Why should customers buy from you?
A home run answer can help you compete and win more business.
The effective value proposition litmus test is pretty straightforward:
- Authentic: Do we deliver on that statement of value consistently?
- Differentiated: Is that statement of value clearly differentiated from our competition?
- Compelling: Is the statement of value powerful enough to prompt additional interest and motivate change?
A value proposition is a promise. That promise serves to create expectations about an experience. An experience that needs to make my life better or I am not buying.
That is why when constructing a winning value proposition it pays to consider why you exist in the first place? What grand purpose do you serve? How do you make the world (or at least the world you work in) a better place?
The key is to consider the customer outcome. The BIG payoff. That is where the statement of value needs to live. That is why customers are going to buy. The more specific and evidence-based (ROI), the better. The winning value proposition serves to challenge the status quo and create some sense of urgency around change.
If you don’t explicitly understand the exact rationale supporting your customers’ buying decision I’d recommend finding out. Go ask a customer over a cup of coffee why they buy. While you are at it go ahead and ask why they would keep buying and refer someone else. That conversation and insight are what we call “sales gold.”
When doing this kind of research for a customer, we ask a lot of questions to arrive at the best promise.
What do you deliver better than anyone else in your category?
Be clear. Be specific. Provide evidence. Leverage relevant business drivers and avoid the “business speak” that makes you sound just like everyone else.
Now put it to work.
