Value Proposition Design Framework: Find Your Ideal Buyer | Salesman Podcast

The value proposition is a foundational component for any successful sales department. It tells salespeople like you which demographics to target. It clues you into your buyer's biggest hopes and fears. And it guides your strategy for closing deals and earning that oh-so-sweet “yes.” But what happens if your value proposition is wrong? What if the ideal buyer that marketing has told you to focus on isn't a fit for your product? What if all those unclosed leads who said your product “just isn't right” for them… were actually right? This guide takes you through how to develop, refine, and verify your value proposition. Along the way, you'll learn our proven four-step value proposition design framework. And with it, you can determine your product or service value (The Value Diagram), find your ideal buyer (The Buyer Breakdown), and develop the value proposition you need to close more sales. *How to Use This Guide – Despite how much business is done these days digitally, some things are still done better with your bare hands. That's why we recommend printing out both The Value Diagram and The Buyer Breakdown and filling them in with sticky notes. There is going to be quite a bit of shifting ideas up and down in terms of priority. And if you're trying to type ideas in or even writing them directly onto the sections, you'll be doing a lot of Ctrl+Xing and erasing along the way. Also, be sure to progress linearly throughout and not skip ahead for the best results with creating your unique value proposition. What Is a Value Proposition & Value Proposition Design? Before we get started on the value proposition design framework, let's first define what a value proposition is. Simply put, a value proposition is a promise to your buyer about what you have to offer. It should be free of jargon and painstakingly clear. It should communicate the benefits of choosing you over the competition. And it should identify who your ideal buyer is. Value proposition design, then, is the methodology used to create your value proposition. Plenty of respected business thinkers have covered value proposition design—namely, Alexander Osterwalder, who penned a book of the same name. In the Value Proposition Canvas, Osterwalder outlines how to develop a effective value proposition that gets to the heart of your product's value and shows how it solves your buyer's problem. Our four-step value proposition design framework is built on the principles outlined in Osterwalder's book. But instead of focusing on developing a new product based on a buyer's needs, our framework is for salespeople with an existing product that want to find their ideal target customer. Why Is a Value Proposition So Important? A value proposition (when constructed correctly) should drive nearly every action of a business. It could very become your competitive advantage in the marketplace. Your value prop should: * Inform your product development * Guide your marketing * Instruct your sales team * Govern your growth strategy Think of a value proposition as the seed from which the rest of the business grows. A bad seed, no matter how great the conditions around it, still won't sprout. And a healthy one can withstand even the worst environments. What's more, the process of strategic value proposition design lets you test and validate market needs. According to CB Insights, a whopping 35% of new businesses fail due to there being no market need for their products.