The Value Proposition Its Critical to Growing Your Business TechBA Webinar Series

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The Value Proposition Its Critical to
Growing Your Business TechBA Webinar Series
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Common International Expansion Issues

• Company establishes operations in a foreign
  market only to pull out less than 1 year later
• Company does not meet sales goals
• Staff do not assimilate into the local business
  culture
• Marketing message is not right or not tailored to
  the local market and customer issues
• Selling on the basis of we are low-priced
  rather than we deliver good value.

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Contributing Factors

• Lack of preparation for the market
• No market development or research is conducted
• No conversations with customers ever take place
• Little consideration for cultural differences,
  communication patterns and buying habits
• Underestimating the complexity of the market
• Underestimating the number of competitors

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Are Experiencing any of these Issues?

• Are you struggling to close the first customer
  deals?
• Does your call-to-appointment ratio need
  improvement?
• Do you encounter major obstacles when talking
  with decision makers?
• Do customers and prospects expect discounts,
  deals, and concessions?
• Are you generating more proposals but closing
  less deals?

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What is Value?
Career
Financial
Well-being
an amount considered to be a suitable
equivalent for something else
Enjoyment
Social
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How Value is Relevant

• Create a strong differential between you and your
  competitors
• Can increase the quantity AND quality of
  prospective sales leads
• Gain market share in your targeted segments
• Enhance your sales tools that will help to close
  more business
• Can improve your operational efficiency

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Value Proposition What is it?

• An implicit promise your company makes to
  deliver upon a combination of values such as
  price, performance, quality, convenience,
  expected outcome and more.

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In other words.

• How does your solution positively impact the
  customers business?

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Origin and Impact

• Value propositions are not made up or determined.
  They grow out of the needs of your customers.
• Corporations devote extensive time and energy to
  their delivery and supply chains but FAIL to
  assess the most fundamental of their success
  factors their value proposition

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Another Consideration

• Your value proposition is not what you say. It
  is what you are.
• It has to be what you DO and who you ARE not
  what you SAY or WANT!

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Strong Value Propositions mean Tangible Results

• Increased revenues ?
• Faster time to market ?
• Decreased costs ?
• Improved operational efficiency?
• Increased market share ?
• Decreased employee turnover ?
• Improved customer retention levels ?

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Real Results are What Buyers Care About

• Our customers experience 30-40 shorter project
  lead times.
• Our tracking system has reduced their materials
  loss by 6000 per month or more than 70,000
  annually.
• Today, the company now experiences a 100
  on-time export shipping record.
• We provide with competitive pricing and
  guaranteed cost-savings of 25 or more.
• New product sales for the second quarter
  increased 93 to 1.57 million due to these
  improvements.

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Understanding the Market5 Core Components

• Target Market Ideal customer profile, basic
  demographic information (industry/SIC code,
  geography, size) Psychographic profile
  preferences, values, and interests
• Pain What is your target markets pain, problem
  or issue that requires assistance? Are you a
  pill or vitamin?

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Understanding the Market5 Core Components

• 3. Solution What results can you produce when
  working with your customers? Expected outcomes,
  business value?
• 4. Proof Points References, testimonials, case
  studies, success stories.
• 5. Differentiation What makes you stand apart
  from the competition? What is the true advantage
  you deliver?

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Understand your Customers

• What is the issue you are trying to solve?
• What pain, need or want does your product solve
  or meet?
• How is this solved without your solution?
• How ELSE could the issue be resolved?
• Who has the issue or need?
• What are demographics of your IDEAL target
  market?
• Why do they have a need, issue or desire?
• What motivates them to buy?

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Features, Benefits, Value

• Feature What it does, how it is made, what it is
• Benefit Advantage the feature brings to customer
• Value Business impact the benefit brings to
  the customer

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Always Sell ValueNot Features!
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Developing the Value Proposition

• For (target audience)
• Who wants/needs (customer issue you solve)
• The offering (what you do)
• Which provides (your solution to the issue)
• Unlike (your other competitors)
• The offer (key differentiator)
• The evidence or proof

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You Must Test a Value Proposition

• Can your competitors name be inserted easily?
• Does your differentiator relate to the reason to
  buy or need?
• Is the want or need compelling enough to warrant
  a purchase NOW?
• Are your differentiation or product claims based
  on evidence?
• Is the positioning sustainable?

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An Epidemic of Weak Value Propositions

• It's the most technologically advanced and robust
  system on the market.
• We improve communication and morale.
• We offer training classes in a wide variety of
  areas.
• Ours is a true B2B solution.
• We have a simple architecture.
• The product was rated the best-in-class by
  leading authorities.
• We have good quality and low prices.

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Strong Value Propositions mean Tangible Results

• Increased revenues ?
• Faster time to market ?
• Decreased costs ?
• Improved operational efficiency?
• Increased market share ?
• Decreased employee turnover ?
• Improved customer retention levels ?

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When to Use Value Propositions

• In email correspondence and email signatures to
  prospects
• In voice mail messages
• In sales presentations, brochures, company
  website, business cards, taglines, press release
  boilerplates.
• At networking events, speaking engagements, user
  groups
• Use EVERY opportunity to discuss your companys
  value

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Elevator Speech Subset of Value Proposition

• A brief statement of the companys offer,
  customer and return on investment.
• Key components
• What the company and product/service do
• For whom (the customer)
• The results or value the company delivers (the
  Return on Investment---ROI)
• For example, our customers include company A,
  company B, and company C.
• When spoken, only 1-2 minutes in length

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Buzzwords to Avoid

• Robust
• Flexible
• Powerful
• Integrated
• Seamless
• Extensible
• Scalable
• Interoperable
• Easy-to-use

• Synergy
• Paradigm
• Bandwidth
• Solution
• Comprehensive
• Intuitive
• Best of Breed
• World-class
• User-friendly

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Elevator Speech Tip

• Companies call us when they want
  ________,_______, and __________.

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How Do You Get Started?

• Talk to your customers!
• They are your best resource to understand what
  value you bring to them.
• Tell your customer you need help understanding
  the real value of your offering and you'd like a
  chance to learn their perspective.
• Thoroughly understand your competition.

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Summary

• A strong value proposition contributes to your
  business growth
• Talk to your current customers to understand
  their perspective on your companys value
• Make it managements top priority to develop and
  articulate a strong value proposition
• Discuss specific, tangible results
• Take every opportunity to showcase your companys
  value

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Michelle E. MessinaExplora Internationalwww.e
xplorainternational.com Tel 1
408.956.1699Mobile [phone]Email
mmessina_at_explorainternational.com