How Do You Talk About Your Unique Value?

I find most individuals and organizations don’t fully understand or effectively communicate their unique value in a compelling, ‘easy to understand by fellow human beings’ sort of way. I work with individuals and teams within growing professional services and technology organizations and constantly see them struggle to wrap their brains and mouths around how to talk about what they do. I think it’s a part of our human nature that we discount what we do and pigeonhole ourselves by talking like smart, proper professionals in a vague, buzzwordy manner.

What often comes out in sales outreach, marketing materials, and new business presentations is jargon like…

World-class products
Customer-focused
Competitive pricing
Lower cost of ownership
Impeccable reputation
High-powered group of experts
Cutting edge
Highest quality
Proven technology
Leader in key vertical best practices
Negotiate cross-functionally
Market leader
30 years of proven results
Innovative
Value-added services

Seriously, what does any of that really mean? Everyone says this stuff that somehow sounds smart and unbelievably boring. When presented with this language, our emotional brain is unable to detect the difference from the same old, same old and doesn’t feel compelled to learn more.

(Recommended book: Neuromarketing by Patrick Renvoise. In it, he discusses the six stimuli of the “Old Brain” that are key to standing out from the clutter and grabbing people’s immediate attention.)

Here is a real-life example that puts together lots of smart talk yet doesn’t tell me what they do and how they are going to help me as the buyer—not good…

“Our success is predicated on our ability to integrate our functional expertise in client services with our profound methodologies and industry experience. Our approach and process are complex and cohesive, but the end results are simple. We gain market share for our clients, increase revenue, and deliver substantial ROI on every engagement.”

Blah. Here’s another one…

“The stability of AMS Solutions is legendary. We are supported by a dedicated group of well-qualified people.”

Blah. Here’s one that makes my head spin…

“CPC Insurance has a best-in-class product focusing on package lines and ensuring the insured are not co-mingled with other risks and a deductible per line negotiability. We are A-rated by B.M.A, multi-industry, and provide high levels of customer service around claims and loss controls.”

One more, then I’ll stop being so negative…

“At InvoiceTech we transform accounts payable for our clients with our blend of proven technology and best practices that enable us to increase the control, transparency, and efficiency. Our best-in-class solution and stellar client list will change the way you do business.”

Super-duper buzzwordy-ness (do you like that made up word?).

Here’s the challenge… No matter what kind of business you’re in, what’s really different or unique about what you do, why you do it, and how you do it? Frame your value in your prospect’s world in a way that they that can quickly relate to and be compelled to learn more.

Much of this seems obvious enough that you might not have thought about it much. Often what we do best comes so naturally to us that we discount the unique approach, mindset, and offering it entails, making it difficult to articulate our value in our prospect’s world.

Try this exercise to think about your value proposition and formulate some structured and compelling key phrases to use when talking, writing, and presenting to people who don’t know you well.

Pain: What kind of pain are your ideal prospects feeling and dealing with when they hire you? What are they struggling with? What’s not working for them?

Opportunity: What are your prospects looking to achieve when they turn to you? What kind of opportunities are they looking to capitalize on? What’s the real urgency that makes it important to do something different now?

Open to: Your prospect can have all of the pain and opportunity that would benefit from what you do, but that doesn’t really matter if they’re not “open to” your offering. For prospects to be a really good fit for you, what do they need to be open to? What do they have to be willing to do, agree to, change, or accept in order to be a legitimately good prospect?

I’ve provided a few real-world examples of this exercise. Don’t worry about crafting the perfect value proposition; just focus on a few bullet points that put you on an equal footing with new prospects. Work on being more specific about who is a good fit for you.

From a professional services firm:

Why clients hire us…

They’re at a critical point in their business and life (e.g., business is changing direction, facing retirement).
They don’t have people around them who will give them the hard truth.
They’re looking for validation that they are on the right path (if that is truly the case).
They want a partner that will help minimize surprises and provide a sense of control and stability in a time of transition and growth.
They need more input and information to make an important business decision that is outside their realm of expertise.
They’re not getting the kind of responsiveness they need and feel they deserve from their current firm. They want someone who will return calls immediately, follow up in timely manner, and make them feel like an important priority.

Example from a technology company:

The kinds of clients that are the best fit for us…

Pain (worried about, struggling with)

Recent staff and budget cuts have left the remaining staff overwhelmed
Dealing with lost invoices, incorrect coding, late fees, angry vendors
Behind the times; still reliant on paper and need more (secure) storage space

Opportunity (looking to capitalize on, get “more of”)

Ways to reduce the cost and time it takes to process and pay invoices
More financial controls that help manage cashflow
Have more visibility with reports: online, anytime, from anywhere

Open to (ways they are willing to stretch)

Moving their process from manual to online
Using and getting comfortable with the internet / technology
Reassigning staff to new projects or departments

Example from a professional services company:

An ideal client for us…

Pain (worried about, struggling with)

Stale, boring training that’s getting low ratings
Their people are not playing well with others
The organization is losing clients and needs to stop this trend

Opportunity (what they are looking for)

A way to better challenge their people (they believe they can change)
Company financial growth is tied to the growth of their people—they want to build a culture that attracts and develops unique talent

(Genuinely) Open to

Working with a smaller company, not a brand name
Spending money; willing to pay to solve the pain
Doing something that’s different, not traditional ‘training’

Bringing it all together, here is an example of a company value proposition snapshot that got the attention of a senior executive and led to an appointment.

“M-Search helps large, multi-brand companies that are struggling with being seen as cool by their Millennial target. They need to remain relevant and stay a step ahead of the trends in youth-oriented marketing and product development in Food & Beverage. We work with leaders who are under pressure to grow the company and are open to fresh perspectives on research, branding, and how to get cool again.”

The above examples are designed to get you thinking about how to communicate your value. There is no perfect way to do it, of course. Look at your sales language, marketing materials, and PowerPoint presentations. Run your buzzword meter over it and drop it through your blah-blah filter. Frame your value in your prospect’s world. Ask yourself what you really do for your clients, why they hire you, and what they most care about that compelled them to talk with you in the first place. Think about it, write about it, talk about it with your peers or team. Don’t make this too complicated. Remember that your new business prospects are human beings. Work on ways to grab attention quickly and find a way to stand out, without gimmicks and buzzwordy b.s.

You have unique value and deserve to find more of the right kind of people to do business with.

Onward.

Tom