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Your company's
unique value proposition is worth the time and effort to get it right.
Yet, Many Sales
Teams Struggle to Differentiate
Any successful go-to-market strategy depends
heavily upon a clear and compelling value proposition that sets you and your
company apart from the pack in the eyes of your target clients.
Eventually, all sales and marketing teams
are confronted with articulating what makes their offering superior to the
competition.
If you cannot simply and easily describe
what specifically makes your offering better, faster or cheaper than the
alternatives in the marketplace, you have some work to do.
The Definition of a
Unique Value Proposition
A unique value proposition is typically a
concise sentence or two that communicates the compelling value of what you do
for your clients and why you do it better than anyone else. It is specific,
simple, and clear in the areas of "better, faster, or cheaper."
Why Differentiation
Matters
Our organizational alignment research found that strategic sales clarity accounts for
31% of the difference between high and low performing sales teams in terms of
revenue growth, margin attainment, customer retention, and sales team
engagement.
Strategy requires choice. Clarity about your
differentiation helps improve your ability to make decisions about how to
market, prospect, sell, win deals, serve clients and allocate scarce
resources.
While many sales teams mistakenly try to
"be all things to all people" to fuel growth, research confirms the
opposite. Narrowing the focus of both your services and your target clients
improves, rather than hinders, growth.
Common Problems
Caused by Unclear Differentiation
If you are not clear about what sets you
apart from the competition, your marketing, sales and resource allocation
efforts will most likely run into problems.
Marketing Problems
Caused by Weak Value Propositions
We believe that the fundamental purpose of
marketing is to do three things:
- Create
brand clarity
- Increase
market awareness
- Deliver
qualified leads to sales
It is almost impossible to accomplish any of
these if there is confusion or disagreement regarding what sets you
apart.
Sales Problems
Caused by Weak Value Propositions
We believe that the fundamental purpose of
sales is to:
- Drive
profitable revenue growth
- Win
new business
- Meet
portfolio mix and deal size targets
- Reduce
sales cycles
If you are trying to be all things to all
people, your chances of success at any of the four are low. And forget about
sales training. Trying to improve the sales skills of sales reps armed with
an unclear value proposition is just wishful thinking.
Resource
Allocation Problems Caused by Weak Value Propositions
Effective strategies ruthlessly prioritize
investments and allocate scarce resources based upon what matters most.
Because different value propositions require different things from different
support systems, ambiguity creates tremendous organizational ineffectiveness.
If your unique value proposition is unclear, it is very difficult to make
smart choices regarding sales territories, compensation plans, organizational
structure, success metrics, sales training, and product road maps.
It could be just the right time for you to
refine how you set yourself apart from the competition.
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