As a super small business owner, it is important to know your value. “Your value” is determined by what you have to offer the consumer. It is important to remember that consumer perception is consumer reality. Every business owner on the path of success must be able to answer the following question from a consumer’s point of view. (We all need to answer a version of this very basic question and answer it very, very well.) The question is: Why should a consumer work with you instead of another business or professional? Your answer should compel the consumer to select you, and keep the consumer from moving on to one of the next businesses.
Your value proposition is your personal thirty second ‘elevator speech’ answering the WHY question: Why should potential prospect pick you? This thirty second answer will prove to be helpful at a networking event, a social gathering, answering a prospecting call, responding to an email, or anytime you are in contact with your potential clients. Like all thirty second answers, your answer needs to be well thought out and planned.
Your value proposition planning begins with listing all of the products and services you provide to consumers. Your list may include: your products and what makes them the best, your market knowledge, negotiation strategies, process knowledge, one-stop-shopping and the list goes on and on. All of the products and services business owners provide can be viewed as the ‘features’ business owners provide to consumers. However, simply giving a potential buyer a list of features is over-whelming and full of jargon. This list has meaning to super small business owners, not to ‘Joe Consumer’.
From your initial list of products and services or features you provide, comes your list of benefits or your value proposition. Your value proposition will compel a potential client to pick you.
Here is the step-by-step process to building your value proposition:
Step #1 List all the products and services that you provide for consumers.
Step #2 Determine which three products and services of yours are the best.
Step #3 State how you provide the three services.
Step #4 Clearly identify what benefit your client gets from each of the three services.
Step #5 Write down the three benefits and practice verbalizing them until you are comfortable saying them.
Now that you have a value proposition, you may want to evaluate it. Will your value proposition be compelling enough for consumers to want to work with you? Is your value proposition giving the message you intended?
It is important to reevaluate and test your 30-second commercial or value proposition to make sure it continues to grow and evolve with your business.