Imagine a world where everyone is in sales.
Well, in actual fact, everyone is to some extent – not just the salesman at the car lot. Whether you're trying to sell your holiday ideas to your spouse, or you're pitching a new project to your boss, it's all selling, and, whatever your offer (product, idea, project or job), it's important to have a really strong value proposition.
A value proposition is a short statement that clearly communicates the benefits that your potential client gets by using your product, service or idea. It "boils down" all the complexity of your sales pitch into something that your client can easily grasp and remember.
It's not enough just to describe the features or capabilities of your offer, your statement needs to be very specific. Your value proposition must focus closely on what your customers really want and value. Do they want to solve problems, to improve on existing solutions, to have a better life, build a better business, do more, better, faster...?
A value proposition is a useful technique that has a much wider application than just marketing your products, too. Whatever you are 'selling' and to whom, a value proposition is useful, if not essential. Whether your 'customers' are external customers, employees, co-workers or even your family, the idea is to help them see the specific value your offer brings to them. And by doing so, you will grab their attention in such a way that they know: "Yes, that's right for me".