To construct your value proposition, a good place to start is by writing out the features, advantages and benefits of your offering.
Feature: A specific characteristic of a product or service. This is what the customer gets when they make a purchase.
Advantage: What your product or service does better than the competition. Advantages describe comparative value.
Benefit: What the customer gets from choosing this product or service. This is the "What's in it for me?"
Once you construct your value proposition, conduct this test:
If your customer heard it would they say, "So What?" OR "TELL ME MORE!"
What determines the worth of a product or service? Your answer comes from how your customers answer these questions:
What's in it for me?
What does it cost?
How does your product compare to the competitor's product?
People buy products because of the benefits they deliver. In its most basic form, a value proposition says, "We can do this for you because we're great in this specific way." Value propositions connect a customer's desired benefits to your core competencies. For best selling results, be sure your value proposition appeals to your customers' strongest decision drivers!
Friend and business owner, Hoyt Tuggle once said to me, “No one pays more for a product or service than they think it is worth.” That is the law of value, and here are a few of the selling corollaries that accompany it. - When a buyer says, “Your price is too high,” they are also saying value is too low. To get your price, you will have to change their perception of value.
- Buyers don’t always buy the best available product or service, but they always buy the best value. The best value balances benefits against price. Some benefits are necessary. Others are nice to have. The buyer will forego nice but unnecessary benefits when the additional cost is too high.
- Value is constructed from benefits. Benefits fall into two basic categories: functional benefits and emotional benefits. Functional benefits are tied to logical reasons to make a purchase. Emotional benefits relate to the buyer’s feelings. By asking questions, you determine what benefits the buyer wants and how much they are willing to pay for them.
