In business today, there is a lot of talk about value propositions, but do you know how to develop one? What makes one value proposition compelling, while another one simply garners a response of "so what?"

A good value proposition tells your customer what your company will deliver to them and the results they can expect to see, because of that value delivered.

But to be truly compelling, a value proposition must address your uniqueness. What can you deliver to your customer that is different from or better than your competitors? And how can that value help your customer to improve their business in very specific ways?

Let's look at an example of a salesperson selling to a manufacturer. Let's call my company Sellco and my customer Manufact. Here is a common value proposition:"Sellco provides you with leading-edge products, outstanding services and worldwide support that enable Manufact to achieve increased revenue growth, reduce costs and improve the productivity of your employees."

Well, this is a value proposition that causes me to yawn with boredom. Where is the uniqueness? Every one of your competitors can (and probably does) say they deliver leading edge products, outstanding services and worldwide support! Other buzz words to avoid are "best in class" and "best of breed." After all, how many times have you heard those terms yourself? And as for business improvement for Manufact, think of how many companies hear their suppliers promise increased revenue and reduced costs.

How boring can you get?

So what can we do to turn this value proposition into a truly compelling statement of fact?

We can identify unique aspects of the value we deliver. Have your offerings been recognized for excellence by any independent organization?

Additionally, people and expertise often represent uniqueness. For example, can you point to specific manufacturing industry experts in your company? Has your own manufacturing process won any quality awards?

Let's also add more punch by being more specific to Manufact's business drivers. What are the specific business issues that cause them to invest in your company's offering? And while we are at it, let's add in a proof statement. Here's what the value proposition sounds like with these changes.

"Sellco provides you with the highest quality products, as evidenced by our receipt of four quality awards in the past two years. We will support your implementation with a staff of on-site manufacturing and technology experts who have been successfully installing systems in companies like yours for more than 12 years. And once your systems are installed, we can provide you with ongoing support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via our help desk or the Internet at any of your manufacturing sites worldwide.

"As a result, Manufact will be able to improve inventory turns and reduce manufacturing time, thereby offering improved delivery and higher levels of satisfaction to your customers. For example, we were able to help XYZ Company improve on time delivery by five points last year, while their inventory turns improved 25 percent."

In summary, develop your value proposition to do the following:

• Differentiate yourself from your competitors,
• Identify compelling value you can deliver in terms of your offerings, your people, and your expertise,
• Show how that value enables a company to improve their very specific business results, and
• Prove it by giving an example of how you have helped someone else achieve similar results.
  

This is the second in a series of articles on developing a business from Pat Molloy, founder and principal consultant at The Sales Alliance (www.thesalesalliance.com), a sales and marketing consultancy. With more than 25 years experience in sales, sales management and operations, Pat has been managing her successful consulting business for the past four years. Contact Pat at pat@thesalesalliance.com or at 603-888-0361.