Do you need help convincing potential customers that your product or service offers better value than competitors? If you can’t answer “What’s really in it for me?” with a compelling answer to every prospect, you may be wasting your time trying to sell your solution. To avoid disappointment, it’s crucial to develop an expert value proposition that communicates the unique benefits and advantages of your offering. In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to create a value proposition that resonates with your target audience and helps you close more deals. Let’s get right into it:
What is a Value Proposition in Sales?
The definition of Value is perceived monetary worth by your prospect.
In other words, exactly how much someone is willing to pay for a product or service.
It also refers to how much someone considers something essential or beneficial.
A Proposition is your company’s suggested scheme or plan of action, usually what your product or service achieves.
When we put these two terms together, we get a Value Proposition: your company’s statement of how prospects will benefit from buying your product or service.
A value proposition in sales is a statement or message that communicates the unique benefits and Value that a product, service, or solution provides to a customer.
To summarise, a value proposition is a clear and concise statement explaining how the offering solves a customer’s problem, satisfies a need or want, or provides a unique benefit that differentiates it from competitors.
What a Value Proposition Isn’t
Many people confuse the terms slogan or tagline with a value proposition, but they are not the same.
Moreover, such a statement focuses on the customer’s final aim, and you should not get caught up in describing the solution’s features.
Harvard Professor Theodore Levitt makes this concept comprehensible with his well-known quip, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”
Why Create an Expert Value Proposition in Sales?
A well-crafted value proposition can help you differentiate your offering from competitors, build credibility with potential customers, and create a sense of urgency that motivates prospects to take action.
To achieve this outcome, the value proposition should be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the target customer and should be communicated clearly and succinctly in all sales materials and interactions.
Essential Elements of an Expert Value Proposition
Building a value proposition for your business isn’t difficult; in fact, it is simple.
Over time, marketers have found a formula which does this well and at the same time appeals to potential customers. While nothing is ever set in stone when it comes to marketing, this brief outline is a good foundation for designing your value proposition.
A good value proposition should contain:
1. A brief, attention-grabbing headline
The amount of time you have to entice someone with your solution is minuscule, and you better make it count.
The most effective headlines are 60 characters or fewer and answer at least one of the four questions which your prospects want to know.
2. A sub-headline
Clearly define who your customer is, and acknowledge their pain point; consider that this has to be concise to fit into a short paragraph with a maximum of three sentences. Then, assure the customer that your company’s product or service is a viable solution to alleviate that pain. Don’t forget to find a straightforward way to differentiate your company from your competitor.Â
3. Three REAL Benefits
Not two or four benefits; three. Humans naturally gravitate towards groups of threes. Therefore presenting three real benefits is a surefire way to make your value proposition in sales undeniably attractive to potential customers. You can offer these benefits with bullet points, images or typography, but ensure that it is easy for potential customers to identify each benefit.
When we pull back for a wide overview of value propositions, we become aware that the most successful ones always answer four main questions for the potential customer:
- What problem will your company’s product or service solve?
- Who might benefit from your solution?
- What are the real benefits the solution offers?
- Why is your company’s solution better than the ones your competitors are offering?
4. Match Your Image To Your Copy
An image may be worth a thousand words, but the wrong one can destroy otherwise brilliant copy. A controversial or shocking idea may draw eyeballs, but that not quite the attention you want in this instance. Avoid any graphics which distracts a prospect from thinking about what you are trying to sell.
5. Concise Messaging
Okay, you have your basic value proposition down on paper, but is it good enough? If you want to make your copy really sing, then you must guarantee that the language you use mimics the way your potential customers communicate among themselves and ensure that you talk about your value proposition in as clear and concise a manner as possible.
Carefully Consider Copywriting
There is a good chance that the way you talk about your company’s product or service is very different from how your targeted customers do. Whether based on age, ethnicity or social status, each group has its own unique vocabulary and social references. If you want to make the largest impact on your target customer, you must use their authentic communication style.
If you are not a member of your targeted group, you will find it worthwhile researching appropriate language, or you run the risk of coming off not only as unauthentic but pandering as well.
A Word Of Caution
It’s best to aim to be as clear and concise as possible. Your message has to be delivered in the simplest language which is capable of doing the job. Now is definitely not the time to experiment with your inner Milton. Yes, style is important, but the substance is what truly turns prospects into customers.
Trying to be too clever can actually backfire by obscuring the benefits of what you are offering and muddling your message. Your goal should be to allow your potential customer to learn what you are selling, who you are selling to, and what benefits your product can offer them in as little as five seconds.
Remember that your value proposition is probably the first part (and perhaps the only part) of your website that a visit reads, so you want it to answer your prospect’s main questions as quickly as you can.
6. Measuring Success
Always test out a few different value propositions before choosing one.
Of course, you can start asking for opinions in-house, but in order to get the most accurate results, consider utilizing live A/B testing. Remember that there isn’t one perfect value proposition for your business, and you must constantly reimagine and rework them to maintain the highest rate of return.
How To Create An Expert Value Proposition in Sales
Now you know what an expert value proposition comprises, you can start to write your own.
Here are the steps to write a value proposition in sales:
- Identify your Target Audience: Understanding your target audience is the first step in crafting a value proposition that resonates with them. You need to know their needs, pain points, and motivations to create a message that speaks directly to them.
- Define your USP: What sets your product or service apart from the competition? What unique benefit does it offer? This is your unique selling proposition (USP), and it should be the cornerstone of your value proposition.
- Highlight Benefits: Once you have your USP, you need to communicate the benefits of your product or service to your target audience. Be specific about your value and how it addresses your customers’ pain points.
- Use Clear and Concise Language: Your value proposition should be easily understood and communicated. Use simple language and avoid jargon or technical terms that may confuse your audience.
- Focus on Outcomes: Customers care about outcomes, not just features. Your value proposition should focus on the benefits and results that your product or service delivers.
- Test and Refine: Once you have your value proposition, test it with your target audience to see how well it resonates. Use feedback to refine and improve your messaging.
Remember, a value proposition should be customer-focused, clear, and concise.
It should communicate the unique value that your product or service offers to your target audience.
Following these steps, you can create a compelling value proposition to help you close more sales.
Final Word: Get the Skills to Stand Out; Make More Sales
In a world where buyers are inundated with choices, it’s essential that you can stand out from other solution providers.
To do this, it all comes down to positioning. You need to study the competition, determine how you’re better AND effectively communicate it.
In the online certification course, Differentiation Dominance, we help you do all of this in an important way for your buyer.
Start learning how to position yourself, your company and your offering as the ideal solution for your customer.
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