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JUNE 2006
The Required Value Proposition
You only have a few seconds to connect with buyers. Once you have mastered your OMP (Read Last Month's Letter), next is the Value Proposition. Its the opening for every management level meeting - how you introduce where this meeting is going. Without a great value proposition, the likelihood of a great meeting is extremely low. In this letter we show you why this is so important.
The Background
Several years ago I was sitting in my office when an unexpected call came in from my administrative assistant. I was needed in the conference room right away. I arrived to find my sales manager face to face with a serious technology student, working hard to convince the sales manager that his product could out perform almost any network device on the market at that time. The sales manager, not being very technical, had no idea what this engineer was really saying, but whatever it was, it certainly was technical.
After listening to about five minutes of heavy technical jargon, I interrupted the meeting to find out who this person was, and who the two other gentlemen where who were standing right behind him. He was an engineer representing a competitive product to the one we were selling. His manager was on his right, and his manager's manager was to the left.
My Question
Charged with the P&L responsibility, I really just has one simple question. I could see that our sales manager had accepted this meeting out of courtesy, and really had no idea of what they were selling. Coming from a technical background, I was following the engineer's points, but my question was not about the technology. Somehow it surprised them when I asked, "Can you show me how this product line will put more money on my bottom line in the next twelve months". The senior manager in the room stared at his colleagues for a moment, then turning to me pointed out his engineer's capability and goal of explaining their product line. I reiterated my question, asking again about the profitability. With that, the senior manager said, "I don't have an answer for you right now".
Our Agreement
At this point, with no answer, I recommended we end the meeting. This team had come in from out of town, but I saw no point in continuing the meeting without an answer. I promised to meet with them as soon as they could come back with an answer. With agreement, we shook hands and they headed out.
The Result
Its been almost nine years since they left my office that day. No return calls, no follow up. I am begriming to think they will never call back. They don't have a value proposition. At least not one directed toward the decision maker. Their whole pitch was directed toward a technical person, based on features and functionality.
The Conclusion
The value proposition has to be relevant. It has to address specific benefits relevant to the buyer. In this case, I was looking at bottom line profits, not performance and product features. Take a look at what you are talking about in your meetings - is it relevant to the economic buyer? Is it interesting at the executive level? Is it unique, or is it a commodity? Next month we will look at some of the mechanics in building this value proposition. |
