Gettin' Dirty

from Jeff Garrison:

Your Value Proposition in Sales should be D.I.R.T.Y.

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 12:17 PM PDT

Crafting your sales value proposition or "elevator statement" well is perhaps the most crucial element in a systematic business development program for the small and medium sized business. If done well, it becomes the foundation for all of your branding, networking, and other marketing efforts.

If done well, it is D.I.R.T.Y.

Different

If the statement is true and accurate when you substitute the name of your competitor's business for yours, then yours is not different. You must discover the value that you provide that is unique from others. Often times what is different is not your actual goods or services or your price.

What may be different is how you can help prospects realize greater valuefrom your companies expertise with products and services that are not necessarily unique.

Inviting

Compelling, attractive, or even interesting are other ways to express inviting. Although your value proposition should be clear and not cryptic, it should also cause a positive reaction. For example, it should cause people to reflect at least for a moment or to ask you a question.

Relevant

You value proposition must promise to do one or more of the following to be relevant:

1. Make money for your prospect
2. Save money for your prospect
3. Minimize a negative emotion such as fear
4. Maximize a positive emotion such as joy, pride, or peace of mind

Truthful

If your claim to provide a certain value is not true, you will get crucified in today's Word of Mouth society. You definitely don't want to be talked about on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, or Linked In for the wrong reasons.

Yours

Your value proposition must be something that you and the people you hire can be passionate about. It's a great idea to get help from a professional marketing firm or consultant, but you can't let them create your value proposition for you based upon their research or their ability to be "quippy" or clever.

Is your value proposition D.I.R.T.Y.? Show it off in the comment section below.

To get direct feedback, feel free to send me an email or contact the brand experts below.

Mike Wagner of White Rabbit Group. Mike first introduced me to D.I.R.T.Y. branding. His company focuses on performance branding (connecting the performance of your organization and the customer experience to your company's promise).

Drew McLellan of McLellan Marketing Group. McLellan helps companies identify why they matter to their best and most profitable customers and then to leverage this knowledge to enhance the customer experience and to develop the most effective marketing plans.

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