Posted by David Bennett
Mon, 05 Jun 2006 17:07:00 GMT
Enhance your value proposition
1. Brainstorm with Your Colleagues
Review your marketing material and what you say to customers to try to get their attention. If you’re not talking about tangible results, keep asking each other, "So what?" So what if it’s an efficient system? So what if we have a lot of listings? So what if our service is high quality? By asking this question over and over again, you’ll get much closer to the real value you bring to customers.
2. Talk to Your Customers
Your existing customers are your best resource to find out what value you bring. Tell your customer you need help understanding the real value of your offering and you’d like a chance to learn their perspective. Most people are scared to ask their customers about this. If you are willing to try it, what you will learn can be a real eye-opener. What your customers have to say can not only change your value proposition, but it also can change your offerings and self-perception.
Don’t let another day go by with a weak value proposition. A strong one literally opens the doors for you, while a weak one keeps you on the outside.
Posted in Test Your Value Proposition, Continuous Feedback and Improvement
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Posted by David Bennett
Fri, 09 Jun 2006 17:44:00 GMT
1. Don’t Use Marketing Speak –Avoid speaking in that rather obscure language commonly known as, “Realtorese”. Use the words your clients use. Use the phrases and needs that resonate with them. Instead of “I provide customers with high quality services through a variety of programs , try, “We help our customers find just the right home where they will live happily ever after – and we save them thousands of dollars.”
2. Construct a “Straw Man” – Once you have outlined potential needs and verified these with your customers, construct a “straw man” value proposition that incorporates the best and most compelling points that you heard when you asked your customers what they value. Try it out with the members of your firm, with friends, with colleagues from your network. Ask for push back, make adjustments, and prepare to test.
3. Test Your Value – Your “straw man” value proposition becomes your test with actual prospects. At networking events, in your prospecting conversations, on your next phone call, see if you pique a prospect’s interest instead of getting blank stares. What pieces work the best? What pieces inspire the desire for more information? Tweak it, refine it, and finalize it, because now you are ready to go.
Once you have created a value proposition that resonates with your prospects, customers, and clients, you can now communicate this value in all your sales and marketing messages, including your:
Sales conversations with customers, clients and prospects
Marketing copy in all your marketing materials
Key words and messaging on your website
Articles and white papers
Seminars and / or webinars you offer
By putting tangible value that speaks to your customers in your value proposition you will definitely stand out from the crowd.
Posted in Test Your Value Proposition
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