On the Importance of Defining Your Value Proposition

Take a moment to ask yourself these questions: What does my company sell? Who are my buyers and how do they benefit from my products and services? How do we differentiate ourselves from the competition?

In order to sell successfully, everyone in sales should be able to answer the above key questions. Being able to produce good answers to these questions is especially crucial when your prospect asks the fundamental question they’re eventually going to ask:

“Why should I buy from you?”

How do you prepare an answer for that? The simple answer is by defining a value proposition–in other words–a brief statement that clearly communicates the benefits of your products and services and why you are the best choice for them. Knowing and being able to clearly communicate your company’s value prop should be second nature to your sales team. And yet… creating a strong, solid value proposition is a challenge for many of us in sales.

Here are some pointers to keep in mind when you draft your value proposition:

Know Your Customer and How You Help
First, hone in on the customer so you can tailor your value proposition to what’s important.  To create that picture, ask and answer the following questions:

• Who are they?
• What is their role?
• What do they want to achieve, improve or avoid?
• What motivates them or keeps them up a night?
• And ultimately… what do they VALUE?

Once you have the answers to the questions above, the next step is to think though how your product/service solves the problem, improves the situation, or avoids a costly mistake. Most sales professionals we meet tend to be knowledgeable about their offerings, however, the tough part about this step is to keep it brief and clear. Key language should include what the specific benefits are that your solution will deliver to the customer.

Know Your Competition
Strong value propositions not only articulate clear benefits aligned with what a customer “values,” they also differentiate you from the competition. This aspect takes the value proposition one step further by demonstrating how you are uniquely positioned to meet your customer’s needs, more so than the competition.

Let’s face it, there’s a good chance the competition is selling the same widgets as you, in a similar way, at a similar price. In today’s competitive marketplace it is harder and harder to differentiate yourself through “what” you sell. So you must communicate how your solution will provide the greatest benefit to your customers, as opposed to talking up a slew of features. And, to make your case to a potential customer, you need to know what the competition is bringing to the table. Arming yourself with this information will take you once step closer on the all-important journey from prospect to customer.

It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It
We’ve all heard this before but it does not make it any less true. The language you use to connect with your target audience is truly important. Here is where your passion, confidence, and overall excitement to provide a solution must come through!

Remember, people still buy from people and passion is contagious!

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