Value Proposition

What’s your value proposition?

It’s a simple question, yet  so many struggle to find an answer.

Value proposition = An analysis and quantified review of the benefits, costs and value that an organization or a person can deliver to customers and other constituent groups within and outside of the organization …

These days everything can be duplicated, made better, bigger and even cheaper. So how do you add value to what you do?   What’s the icing on the cake? We know that for every Coke there’s a Pepsi, and for every Blackberry there is an iPhone … but they’re not the same.

You should bring something extra to the table and you should excel at it! Then find ways to make it a habit every single day. The more valuable you become, the more leverage you will have in negotiating better deals.

In most furniture stores, or shoe stores,  they push very hard for you to purchase a spray to protect the fabric or the shoes. OK, I understand, if every customer bought a can, the revenue could be huge … but what if at one shop, they just spray your new shoes on the spot, for FREE!  What an awesome idea! Slip a card in my box, and man-o-man … I am your customer forever!

Many try to compete by lowering their fees. They beat themselves up and cut prices like crazy to get deals. By finding and defining your value, you differentiate yourself from the rest of the gang and you become harder to replicate. An effective value-add creates a competitive advantage that’s probably worth a lead of one to two years over your competitors.

So, what’s your value proposition?