The term \u201ca ship without a rudder\u201d fits the profile of many sales organizations today. I often find that company leaders have failed to deliver proper tools, thoughts, and processes to guide their sales team to success. Specifically, I\u2019m referring to a company\u2019s value proposition.<\/p>\n
Lead with Value Proposition<\/strong><\/p>\n In many of my new engagements, the value proposition is completely missing, and the company\u2019s \u201cclient facing sales conversation\u201d is created on the fly by sales reps to fit the situation of the moment. This is a problem which affects everything in a detrimental way. It can easily deteriorate your forecast, as sales teams often chase opportunities outside the company\u2019s desired targets or capabilities. These are always harder to manage and close. Even worse, a prospect or new client may never learn of your real value and capabilities! The enormous amount of time wasted chasing deals that ARE NOT PROBABLE can be, if redirected, a wonderful springboard for significant growth opportunities with targets that appreciate your value proposition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This lack of corporate direction may lead to unwanted deals or deals that don\u2019t fit within your core offerings. Trying to jump through hoops to honor a sales rep\u2019s concoctions, especially when considering larger clients, can not only overwhelm your organization, but possibly destroy your company\u2019s ability to compete should the word get out and affect your reputation.<\/p>\n If you think about it, chasing just one or two \u201cone-offs\u201d a month, especially for smaller sales teams, can stress your company\u2019s bandwidth and suck the momentum out of forward motion. While you should be creative, competitive, and flexible, do it inside your value proposition.<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t take long as they stack up to max out your company\u2019s post-sales ability to perform satisfactorily. When a client makes decisions based on wayward promises, managing those promises can become a significant distraction to healthy growth. When your company is asked to perform outside the business model, evaluate the risk and benefit, always reviewing the \u201cWhat if it all goes south?\u201d scenario. My experience shows that if you know your value and who receives it best, with an appropriate prospecting campaign, you can find more deals and win them versus a single \u201con the edge, one off.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Who is Your Target?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the hardest things I do is getting a business owner to define, \u201cWho is your target, and what unique value do you provide for them?\u201d It sometimes takes months for them to answer this question. Most start chattering about the years they\u2019ve been in business and their service response times, etc. Here\u2019s a hint, \u201cIt\u2019s not about you!\u201d When you\u2019re creating or defining your value proposition, you have to sit in your target\u2019s chair, and look at your company from their point of view.<\/strong><\/p>\n To get insight on creating their value proposition, dealers often send out surveys and ask questions such as, \u201cWhat do you like about our company?\u201d and \u201cWhy do you do business with us?\u201d Those answers are pushed into a false value proposition statement because the answers to those types of questions provide an evaluation of how well you are at customer service and relationships. They are often answered by middle to lower management and not your target. Therefore, they are not your value proposition.<\/p>\n With a defined target, you fulfill a very important part of your market strategy: your sweet spot. Identifying the profile which would most likely be your best target empowers every step of your marketing execution plan because of the focus it provides.<\/p>\n Dealers have long sought business from anyone that has a heartbeat. When you think about it, an appropriate value proposition and target identification significantly increases your forecast accuracy.<\/strong> You\u2019ve eliminated (as much as possible) the approach to companies or targets that are \u201cless likely\u201d to engage and move through your sales process.<\/p>\n You Hit the Target, Now What?<\/strong><\/p>\n By now you get it! Your business needs a well-defined value proposition. However, a value proposition isn\u2019t just made up. To assure success, your value proposition must be based on real needs or concerns of the most likely target candidate within your marketplace.<\/strong> This candidate would find your solution very valuable and obviously be someone you can serve well within the current capabilities of your company. Value that\u2019s real is easy to deliver and well received.<\/p>\n Telling anyone that you\u2019ve mastered the MPS audit process, can optimize their print fleet, or you can save them 20%-30% hard cost savings, isn\u2019t your value proposition either. Although these statements are valuable when properly used, they are simply attributes of an excellent sales or client relationship process. Your value proposition helps a stranger answer the question of why they would ENGAGE YOU<\/strong> (when they know nothing about you). It comes from KNOWING<\/strong> and UNDERSTANDING<\/strong> them SO WELL<\/strong> that your values are crystal clear and desirable.<\/p>\n Think about a time in your life where someone seemed to know your exact position, problem, or concerns and had a solution for you! Do you feel that? \u00a0That\u2019s the feeling your value proposition should create in your target.<\/strong> So now you can see that it\u2019s not about you or your products. It\u2019s completely about them and their real life, day-to-day situations or concerns.<\/p>\n An MPS value proposition could sound something like:<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Jones, we understand that most business owners like yourself are extremely talented and educated in the execution of business. However, most owners feel they should be getting much more value and performance out of their technology infrastructure. Whether it be an enterprise-wide productivity gain or providing the needed visibility for better cost management, we are that type of partner. The clients who\u2019ve engaged us for this type of solution believe their company has moved to a more competitive position and are now able to focus on more front end growth initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n You can most certainly create multiple value propositions based on different targets, solutions, or market strategies. However, your words must MEAN SOMETHING<\/strong> to your target. The value proposition is a bridge that turns a stranger into a credible, trusted expert.<\/strong> That\u2019s You!<\/p>\n Value Proposition and Sales<\/strong><\/p>\n Once your value proposition is set, it must be driven into the sales team. Decide once and for all that your sales team will focus on the right targets and deliver the right message, (your message), to your marketplace. By perfecting your approach in this manner, your team will transform their sales funnel to include the most likely, most probable deals available within your marketplace, and your forecast accuracy will go up! Then, you simply manage sales activity to drive volume.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t define your value and fail to provide the proper leadership to your sales team, they will chase anything out there to find their next deal.<\/strong> That\u2019s akin to \u201ctreading water holding an anchor.\u201d Sooner or later, they\u2019ll either let go (lose the deal), or you will drown. Both of these waste your time. Tell them your value!u<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The term \u201ca ship without a rudder\u201d fits the profile of many sales organizations today. I often find that company leaders have failed to deliver proper tools, thoughts, and processes to guide their sales team to success. Specifically, I\u2019m referring to a company\u2019s value proposition. Lead with Value Proposition In many of my new engagements, the value proposition is completely missing, and the company\u2019s \u201cclient facing sales conversation\u201d is created on the fly by sales reps to fit the situation of the moment. This is a problem which affects everything in a detrimental way. It can easily deteriorate your forecast, as sales teams often chase opportunities outside the company\u2019s desired targets or capabilities. These are always harder to manage and close. Even worse, a prospect or new client may never learn of your real value and capabilities! The enormous amount of time wasted chasing deals that ARE NOT PROBABLE can be, if redirected, a wonderful springboard for significant growth opportunities with targets that appreciate your value proposition. This lack of corporate direction may lead to unwanted deals or deals that don\u2019t fit within your core offerings. Trying to jump through hoops to honor a sales rep\u2019s concoctions, especially when considering larger clients, can not only overwhelm your organization, but possibly destroy your company\u2019s ability to compete should the word get out and affect your reputation. If you think about it, chasing just one or two \u201cone-offs\u201d a month, especially for smaller sales teams, can stress your company\u2019s bandwidth and suck the momentum out of forward motion. While you should be creative, competitive, and flexible, do it inside your value proposition. It doesn\u2019t take long as they stack up to max out your company\u2019s post-sales ability to perform satisfactorily. When a client makes decisions based on wayward promises, managing those promises can become a significant distraction to healthy growth. When your company is asked to perform outside the business model, evaluate the risk and benefit, always reviewing the \u201cWhat if it all goes south?\u201d scenario. My experience shows that if you know your value and who receives it best, with an appropriate prospecting campaign, you can find more deals and win them versus a single \u201con the edge, one off.\u201d Who is Your Target? One of the hardest things I do is getting a business owner to define, \u201cWho is your target, and what unique value do you provide for them?\u201d It sometimes takes months for them to answer this question. Most start chattering about the years they\u2019ve been in business and their service response times, etc. Here\u2019s a hint, \u201cIt\u2019s not about you!\u201d When you\u2019re creating or defining your value proposition, you have to sit in your target\u2019s chair, and look at your company from their point of view. To get insight on creating their value proposition, dealers often send out surveys and ask questions such as, \u201cWhat do you like about our company?\u201d and \u201cWhy do you do business with us?\u201d Those answers are pushed into a false value proposition statement because the answers to those types of questions provide an evaluation of how well you are at customer service and relationships. They are often answered by middle to lower management and not your target. Therefore, they are not your value proposition. With a defined target, you fulfill a very important part of your market strategy: your sweet spot. Identifying the profile which would most likely be your best target empowers every step of your marketing execution plan because of the focus it provides. Dealers have long sought business from anyone that has a heartbeat. When you think about it, an appropriate value proposition and target identification significantly increases your forecast accuracy. You\u2019ve eliminated (as much as possible) the approach to companies or targets that are \u201cless likely\u201d to engage and move through your sales process. You Hit the Target, Now What? By now you get it! Your business needs a well-defined value proposition. However, a value proposition isn\u2019t just made up. To assure success, your value proposition must be based on real needs or concerns of the most likely target candidate within your marketplace. This candidate would find your solution very valuable and obviously be someone you can serve well within the current capabilities of your company. Value that\u2019s real is easy to deliver and well received. Telling anyone that you\u2019ve mastered the MPS audit process, can optimize their print fleet, or you can save them 20%-30% hard cost savings, isn\u2019t your value proposition either. Although these statements are valuable when properly used, they are simply attributes of an excellent sales or client relationship process. Your value proposition helps a stranger answer the question of why they would ENGAGE YOU (when they know nothing about you). It comes from KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING them SO WELL that your values are crystal clear and desirable. Think about a time in your life where someone seemed to know your exact position, problem, or concerns and had a solution for you! Do you feel that? \u00a0That\u2019s the feeling your value proposition should create in your target. So now you can see that it\u2019s not about you or your products. It\u2019s completely about them and their real life, day-to-day situations or concerns. An MPS value proposition could sound something like: \u201cMr. Jones, we understand that most business owners like yourself are extremely talented and educated in the execution of business. However, most owners feel they should be getting much more value and performance out of their technology infrastructure. Whether it be an enterprise-wide productivity gain or providing the needed visibility for better cost management, we are that type of partner. The clients who\u2019ve engaged us for this type of solution believe their company has moved to a more competitive position and are now able to focus on more front end growth initiatives.\u201d You can most certainly create multiple value propositions based on different targets, solutions, or market strategies. However, your words must MEAN SOMETHING to your target. The value proposition is a bridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1649,1814,237],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8414"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8419,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8414\/revisions\/8419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}