How to Score More Points with Your Value Proposition

How to Score More Points with Your Value Proposition

In general, a value proposition describes why people should buy from you. It’s the ultimate argument that should tip the scales in your favor when they make their decision.

But for purposes of this article, let’s scale back that ambition a little. Especially in complex sales, it’s rather presumptive to try to tell someone why they should do business with you until you know more about their particular situation—in other words, until you’ve gone through that specialized thinking process called a buying cycle.

More realistically, your value proposition as I address it in this post should describe why they should take the time to talk with you and explore whether they have a need that you are best qualified to address. In other words, the purpose of a value proposition is to earn their attention. It’s what you need to get in the door.

Not all value propositions are created equal

Leo Tolstoy said: “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Thank goodness for unhappy families, for without them there would be no great stories or literature.

If you replace the word “family” with “prospect”, you can easily see that the same idea applies to selling.

Thank goodness for unhappy prospects, for without them there would be no need for our products or services. But, since every unhappy prospect is unhappy in their own way, for maximum possible impact you must make your value proposition must be as closely targeted to their particular unhappiness as possible.

In this article I will explain how to move closer and closer to the bulls-eye of a perfectly targeted value proposition. Just like a dartboard, the closer you get to the center (your prospect), the more points you score. Let’s look at the five possible concentric rings.

The first shot that most people take at the target is some version of the better mousetrap theory, where the mere presence of something better is all you need. It sounds something like this:

“Our state-of-the-art MouseRid system is the world’s best, most advanced and most efficient mousetrap.”

Score: 0 points

This value proposition is all about you, not the prospect. With so much information available to prospects nowadays, they’ll likely ignore anything that does not target a specific need, so we’ll score that a complete miss. You’ve put a hole in the wall near the target, but that’s about it.

For our second shot, we zero in on a common problem that the prospect may have. For added focus, you could select a problem specific to their industry, or a recent trend which needs to be addressed.

“A recent Forrester report points out the alarming increase in mouse sightings in your area. Historically, rats and mice have been carriers of the bubonic plague. Let us come in and show you how we address this critical risk.”

Score: 1 point

This one definitely targets a need, although it may or may not be of concern to the individual. Let’s give it 1 point.

For our third shot, we can focus on something specific to the company the prospect works for.

“Your recent annual report states that one of your initiatives is to entertain more this year. That may open you up to an increased risk of a friend spotting a mouse in your house. We will help ensure that your entertainment initiative for 2020 is a great success.”

This one hits closer to home, because it addresses a documented need they have, and it also tells them you’ve done your homework.

Score: 3 points

For our fourth toss of the dart, we home in on something of particular concern to the function or title of your prospect.

“As a parent, nothing matters more to you than the well-being of your children, and seeing a mouse scamper across the little tyke’s room could ruin them for life.”

You probably put your finger on something that this person has thought about recently, and there’s a good chance that they’ll want to hear more.

Score: 5 points

For our fifth and best shot, we learn enough about the individual so that we can address an issue they personally care about.

“In your recent speech to the Chamber of Commerce, you mentioned that your ZeroRodent campaign is a major strategic initiative for you this quarter, but you’re allergic to cheese. We’ve created a system specifically for that particular issue…

You have targeted an issue that they deeply care about and is timely; probably the only reason they might have for not taking a meeting with you is if they have solved the problem already.

Score: Bullseye. 10 points.

One way to think of refining your value proposition is to imagine that every potential prospect has several layers to their identity. They are a) unique individuals, who b) do a certain job, c) in a particular company, d) within a certain industry. The closer you can aim your value proposition to the center of who they are, the more likely you will get that meeting you want.

By the way, did you notice something else about all the value propositions that scored points? Not one mentioned the product.