Creating Your Value Proposition

Transcription

1 Creating Your Value Proposition 1

2 Creating Your Value Proposition: A Guide for Mobile DJs Creating Your Value Proposition A Guide for Mobile DJs Copyright 2011, Stacy Zemon. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the author. Permission may be sought by ing Stacy@ProMobileDJ.com. 2

3 Creating Your Value Proposition What is a Value Proposition? In simple terms, a value proposition is the sum total of the benefits that clients receive when they book your services. Your value proposition is a powerful statement designed to capture the mind and the heart of your prospects by demonstrating a relevant advantage in choosing your mobile entertainment company. It is usually articulated as part of your branding, in advertising or sales literature, and is communicated directly when speaking with your clients. Why should your ideal customer purchase from you rather than anybody else? If you can answer this question in a sentence, then you have a strong unique value proposition. A strong and differentiated value proposition can go a long way to position your business to succeed in your target market. It is the promise of your brand. A value proposition should focus on outcomes. It needs to distill all the complexity of the value you provide into an easyto-remember phrase that a potential client can easily grasp and remember. This helps spread word-of-mouth marketing and it differentiates you from the competition. A strong value proposition does the following: Focuses on your potential customers point of view Opens the door so that a prospect will meet/speak with you 3

4 Creating Your Value Proposition: A Guide for Mobile DJs Creates interest so that your prospects ask questions and want to learn more Differentiates you from your competitors Increases the quantity and quality of your sales leads Makes conversion from prospect to client much easier Allows you to gain a greater profit margin Wins your business greater market share Aligns your business operations more closely to client needs Who is Your Audience? The number one response you DON T want prospects to ask or even think after hearing your value proposition is So what? If there are multiple decision-makers involved in the purchase decision, you may need to construct a unique value proposition that addresses the needs and perspectives of each decision maker. For example, when selling to a company, more than one stakeholder may need to approve the purchase. In such a case, be prepared with different language for each stakeholder s perspective. The value proposition for a corporate buyer will differ from that of a bride, which will differ again from the person booking you for a school dance. Tailor your value propositions to each type of client, buyer, or influencer. Know your client, and adapt your value proposition to the situation. 4

5 Creating Your Value Proposition Among the many challenges you face as a DJ business owner in today s competitive marketplace, perhaps the most difficult is effectively communicating your Story. What value does your company and its services deliver? Who is it delivered to, and how? The key to winning business, upselling, and earning higher margins is developing clear, easily articulated client-focused value propositions, and communicating them convincingly to your prospects. Speaking to Potential Clients As a mobile DJ business owner, you are passionate about what you do and understandably want to tell as many people as possible about your offerings. When talking about your products and services, your message may sound to prospects as This is what I sell, and I am running through a long list of the reasons why I think you should buy everything I tell you about. What people want to hear, however, is a clear statement that demonstrates that you understand their situation that you recognize the problem they wish to solve, or the outcome they wish to achieve followed by a specific offer or explanation as to how you are going to help them address their situation. Ideally, the value proposition will not only explain how engaging your services will allow the prospect to achieve a desired outcome; it will also explain how it is that your business is uniquely positioned to create that outcome. 5

6 Creating Your Value Proposition: A Guide for Mobile DJs To maximize the effectiveness of your value proposition, you must go beyond typical statements of product or service benefits, and drill down into precisely what outcome the client is looking to achieve, and how it is that your product and service will help them achieve it. Focus On Your Prospects' Needs The most important guiding principle for creating a compelling, client-focused value proposition is this: the value proposition should focus on client needs, not on product or service features. To put it another way, do not simply explain the products and services you sell, or embellish their features. Instead, detail the benefits to the client of owning your products or retaining your services. Once you establish the benefits, your value proposition can then go on to explain how it is your services and products address those objectives and, where possible, provide testimonials that backs up your claim(s). Defining Features and Benefits Features are the qualities or characteristics of your products, services and business. Benefits are the favorable results (value/solutions) that someone obtains from choosing your company. To understand the benefits of the features you offer, think in terms of your prospect s needs and fears. To sell effectively, you need to be able to: 6

7 Creating Your Value Proposition Provide an answer to problems that people have or fear happening. Represent the means of attaining their desires. Inspire confidence in the quality of the solution. people perceive as offering a value greater than the cost. Bearing this in mind, the flow of your sales presentation should be to: 1. Listen to what your prospect wants and doesn t want. 2. Describe the features of your company and their corresponding benefits 3. Clearly explain how you can ensure that his/her pain points will be removed and emotional needs will be fulfilled. As you go through this process, be sure to use language the prospect has used and provide indications along the way that you really listened well. The more benefits you offer clients and emotional needs you can meet, the less important price becomes because now we are talking about VALUE. The greater your value, the higher price you can command. Here's another way to look at this subject. Features are the indisputable facts about your product or service. Benefits are the advantages your product or service offers. For example, a feature may be that you have been in business since The benefit related to this feature is that 7

8 Creating Your Value Proposition: A Guide for Mobile DJs you have developed a strong reputation in your marketplace, and have lots of experience. Features and benefits are the cornerstones of the valuebuilding process. This is because features and benefits influence purchasing decisions. It is difficult to be effective in sales without a mastery of your product knowledge. In addition, linking a feature with a benefit is a powerful tool you can use to communicate what you can do for your prospects in a memorable, compelling, and persuasive way. Developing a powerful and tangible value proposition will set you apart from the competition and entice your prospects to it is more important than ever to ensure that when you have the attention of a potential client, you are able to offer a compelling reason for doing business with you. Sell Like You Mean It Enthusiasm is one of the keys to persuasive communication. Does excitement come through your voice when you present the features and benefits that you worked so hard to master? It s not enough to know your company s products and services. You must really believe in what you are saying, and then get to the point that you can verbalize the features and benefits in a motivating way. This takes practice so keep at it! Never assume that your prospect knows even the most obvious features and benefits about your company. It s up to you to ensure they know them after speaking to you. So, start at the beginning, talk in simple terms, and after asking questions, 8

9 Creating Your Value Proposition directly apply the features and benefits to your prospect s needs. How Do You Write a Value Proposition? Crafting a value proposition requires insight on what is unique about your company and your products/services. Your past clients are your best resource to learn the value you offer. Your goal is to learn how they define value not you. Call some past clients with whom you have the greatest rapport. Tell them you need help understanding the real value of your offering and that you d like a chance to learn their perspective. Most people will be more than happy to oblige. After you have gathered information from clients, write down the answers to the following: Client Identification: Who is/are your target client(s)? Companies? Teenagers? Brides? Outline each target client's pain points and needs. Distinct Advantages: What makes your company's offerings special? If you don't know or what you have to offer isn't special, then your chances of getting lost in the crowd are high. You must provide potential clients with a simple and clear reason to choose your DJ service over the competition. Measuring Value: If you can't clearly articulate how your services/products bring tangible benefit to your target client(s), you won't be able to effectively sell or upsell. Once someone understands the value you bring to them, she/he will be able to choose you with greater ease. 9

10 Creating Your Value Proposition: A Guide for Mobile DJs Sustainability: When clients selects your DJ company, they expect to receive the benefits promised to them. It is critical that you understand what it takes to keep those promises, and to continually make good on them. Making big claims is the easy part, delivering on those claims is what sets the winners apart. To sustain your business over the long-term, you must get referrals and repeat business. Competitor Comparison: Every company has their strengths and weaknesses. However most companies are so engrossed internally, they forget to pay attention to their competition. For a value proposition to be most effective, it must clearly provide the prospect with a reason to select you over a competitor. It must bolster your unique strengths, and play against your competitors most exposed weaknesses without being derogatory about them. In Conclusion Your market research, idea generation, and strategic planning should lead to your value proposition. Developing and communicating a differentiated value proposition in each sales situation is critical. Having a unique and compelling value proposition is a mandatory prerequisite to achieving amazing sales success with your mobile entertainment business. 10