A month ago, I wrote a blog on ‘The Importance of Value.’ In that blog, I discussed the fact that in order to build the value proposition, one would need to complete a SWOT analysis on their competition, as well as on themselves. There is however, another SWOT analysis that you have to do and that is on your company. Obviously, if you are a solopreneur; doing it on yourself is also, doing it on your company.
SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, and Threats. A word of caution, do not rush this process. Each section should take a considerable amount of time and somber thought. It is not unusual for it to take days. However, the more time and thought you put into it, the more you will get out of it and the building the value proposition becomes that much easier.
In the same blog, I mentioned something that we work on in ‘The Action Suite’ called VAST: ‘Value Added Strategic Target.
We will now begin building your value proposition by following these steps:
- Take out the completed SWOT analysis for your company and the competition who you are finding the most troubling to you.
- Look at the strengths that you have versus the weakness that they have. Brainstorm ideas on how you can leverage your Strengths against those Weaknesses. It is imperative that when you speak to the prospect though, that it does not sound as if you are attacking or badmouthing the competition. However, that is a topic for another day.
- Look at the competition’s Strength and your Weakness. Brainstorm a way to make those Weaknesses a Strength so that they can not be used against you and it is never a value proposition that they can bring to the marketplace.
- Since you know the Strengths of the competition, do not bring them up during a meeting. You must acknowledge them if they are brought up by the prospect; you must know about them, but never bring them up yourself. Again, how to handle it when it is brought up is for another day.
- Once you have something that you can leverage, look at the Opportunities from your prospect list and find a way to make your value proposition fit the Opportunities that they have by dealing with you.
- Also, particular attention must be paid to the Threats that your prospects have. Come up with a solution to their Threats and you will become a trusted adviser. Is that not what you are looking for?
- This step will be the most critical. Answer this question: “How does your value proposition help your prospect?” The two biggest challenges that we all have, ourselves included, is, time and money. Can you save the prospect either one or both? If so, your prospect becomes your client.
These are only the first seven steps in developing your value proposition. There are many others, including how you structure and present it and for good measure, how you can get them to buy your product and/or service instead of your competition’s even though yours may be as much as 20% or higher in cost.
Interested?
Register for The Action Suite. This is where the talking stops and the doing gets done and where you will receive the knowledge, know-how, and the tools to make you more efficient, effective but more importantly, to be able to implement immediately. We will work on your value proposition and ensure that its value received matches the payment received.
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