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Value proposition is to an organization what strong wind is to flying a kite. It propels an organization toward success, helping it stand out from competitors, gain market share in target segments and drive revenue. Sales professionals use value proposition as a communication tool to influence customers, establish their brand and close deals.
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What Is A Value Proposition?
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Building A Unique Value Proposition
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Characteristics Of An Effective Value Proposition
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Value Proposition Example
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Tick The Right Boxes
What Is A Value Proposition?
A value proposition is a statement that demonstrates the value of a product or service to potential clients. In its simplest form, it tells a customer what they can get from a particular product or service, how it solves their problems and what sets it apart from other offerings in the market.
Coming up with an effective value proposition can often pose a challenge to sales professionals. Business-to-business sales, for example, are complex and multifaceted. There are often multiple decision-makers involved in such processes and each of their needs is diverse. It’s up to sales professionals to identify the specific needs that their value proposition is meant to address. A unique value proposition is instrumental in making a product or service successful and in driving organization growth.
Now that we know value proposition meaning, let’s look at a few ways in which sales professionals can fine-tune a value proposition.
Building A Unique Value Proposition
According to a Gartner research, 44% of buyers feel that only 25% of their providers help them maximize their value. Buyer expectations are constantly evolving and organizations need to prepare their sales professionals to be able to stay relevant in a dynamic business environment. A well-crafted value proposition can go a long way in communicating value to potential clients. It involves:
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Understanding Customers
Success in the sales industry is often synonymous with understanding customers. Sales professionals must be aware of and recognize customer pain points, wants and needs. This helps them craft a unique value proposition that resonates with their desired customer base.
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Evaluating The Competition
Analyzing the business landscape gives sales professionals a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of potential competitors in the market. They can set apart their offering from the competition and pinpoint characteristics that make it unique.
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Focusing On Clarity
An effective value proposition is clear, compact and to-the-point. Sales professionals must use simple language and powerful keywords, free of jargon, to make it easy for their customers to understand the offering. Andy Paul, author of two award-winning sales books, Zero-Time Selling and Amp Up Your Sales, writes: “Your sales value proposition must be concise and the value of what you’re selling has to be immediately clear to the customer. You must be able to instantly attract the attention of prospects in order to earn their time and attention in order to sell to them.”
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Testing A Value Proposition
Testing variations in a value proposition can help sales professionals tailor them to customer needs. A sales professional must test propositions with small user groups to pick a particular proposition as their go-to and set the others as variations. Experts recommend testing value propositions that are considerably different from each other, not simply variations of a single word.
Building a unique value proposition helps sales professionals define the brand and position their product or service as the best possible option in the market.
Characteristics Of An Effective Value Proposition
Sales professionals often need to modify a value proposition according to its relevance to prospective clients. However, there are a few common value proposition characteristics that experts swear by. It helps them convey their message, and attract and retain customers. Here are some of the primary attributes of an effective value proposition.
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Adaptability
A compelling value proposition addresses flexibility. It assures potential customers that the new product or service can be successfully integrated with the customers’ existing business processes and that it’ll improve—not disrupt—their current workflow.
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Scalability
Customers often consider the long-term potential of an offering while making a decision. They want to know if a particular product or service will still serve their needs and help them grow 10 years down the line. An effective value proposition emphasizes scalability. It shows the customer how an offering is capable of meeting their future needs.
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Problem-Solving
A value proposition that focuses on unresolved pain points and speaks of solving an ongoing problem that’s troubling target customers leaves a significant impact. It showcases the brand as a problem-solver and assures customers that the product or service in question can make their lives easier.
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Credibility
Incorporating user statistics, testimonials and ratings in a value proposition shows authenticity and gives potential clients a reason to believe in and trust the brand.
Customers often use value propositions to evaluate organizations. Combining some of the above-mentioned characteristics can help sales professionals come up with a compelling value proposition that leaves a lasting impression on their clients.
Value Proposition Example
A strong value proposition paves the way for an organization and is capable of making or breaking a business. It’s not a tagline, a catchphrase or a slogan. Nor is it simply a positioning statement. Let’s look at a few value proposition examples for an idea of what it entails.
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Uber
In less than five sentences, Uber’s value proposition tells a user why they should opt for an Uber instead of a conventional cab. Its value proposition reads: “Uber is the smartest way to get around. One tap and a car comes directly to you. Your driver knows exactly where to go. And payment is completely cashless.” Direct, compact and persuasive, such a value proposition delivers impact and makes an organization stand out.
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Grammarly
Grammarly is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based writing assistant that grabs eyeballs with its headline, “Your writing, at its best.” A longer sentence follows—“Grammarly makes sure everything you type is effective and mistake-free.” The concise, to-the-point statements in simple, straightforward language capture the customer’s attention in a matter of seconds. To add to the appeal, a video comes up highlighting Grammarly’s offering and its benefits.
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WordPress
For WordPress, a little goes a long way. This all-in-one platform uses short, compact sentences to expertly convey the features it has to offer, “Build a site. Sell your stuff. Start a blog. And so much more.” Its value proposition further touches on the value it delivers through social proof: “41% of the web is built on WordPress. More bloggers, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies use WordPress than all other options combined.” This establishes credibility before prospective customers.
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Slack
A collaboration app with instant messaging capability, Slack features a few variations of its value proposition statement on its homepage—all of which highlight user-friendliness and improved productivity. One such example is, “Slack makes it downright pleasant to work together.” Features and the unique benefits of the app appear as one scrolls through the homepage, complete with statistics to back up the claims. The “try for free” call to action acts as a value proposition booster.
Value propositions evolve and grow with changing services, customers and market trends. They also differ according to the organization. But the best of them have that one thing in common—they clearly showcase how their brand is the one to look out for in simple, everyday language.
Tick The Right Boxes
To finesse their brand’s value proposition and stay relevant in a rapidly changing business scenario, sales professionals need to tick all the right boxes. They need to capture a customer’s attention, address their issues, meet their expectations and convince them to upgrade or make a change.
Harappa’s Impactful Sales Program is specifically designed for professionals committed to acquiring the magic toolkit of excellence in selling. It seamlessly combines the best of a rich, blended and integrated online-first learning journey that delivers a transformative behavior shift.
The 15-week program hinges on six crucial outcomes. These include sharpening the value proposition and making compelling sales pitches to win clients, understanding client needs, identifying appropriate persuasion techniques and taking ownership for establishing the brand’s credibility.
The program also comes with a skill map of 15 must-have “Thrive Skills”, some of which are finessing a value proposition, influencing with tact and believing in the brand. The curriculum comprises a selection of academically-robust and application-oriented concepts from organizational behavior, personal leadership, cognitive sciences, creative thinking and communication practice.
Built on Harappa’s signature 10 on 10 pedagogy, the framework of the program combines 10 key elements across three critical phases: Activation, Cultivation and Elevation of the cohort’s performance to deliver impactful learning outcomes. Activation involves cohort engagement and skills benchmarking. Cultivation includes prompt-rich nudges, self-paced online courses, live masterclasses and habit drills. Elevation comprises a dynamic dashboard, a behavior custodian, meaningful milestones and observed feedback.
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Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as Top Sales Skills, Key Sales Manager Skills and Responsibilities Of A Sales Executive that will help organizations tap into people’s potential.
