MODERN SELLING
comparing ourselves with competitors . This is often a fruitless exercise with negative psychological effects .
2 . It ’ s very superficial . A unique selling proposition is often something that just skims the surface of what you do ; it ’ s an attention-grabber , rather than a deal maker .
3 . It uses the word “ selling ”. Business development is about creating value , and selling is just the transactional bit that follows on from that .
4 . Finally , just because it ’ s unique , doesn ’ t make it valuable . The world is full of unique things that no one bought , including Jell-O for salads , toaster bacon , and blue French fries . ( All real products that tanked horribly .)
What we need to find is your unique value proposition , not your unique “ selling ” proposition .
Creating commercial value that customers want to buy Value is like a snowflake – no two commercial value propositions are ever exactly the same . This is because every customer has different hopes , dreams , goals and problems to solve . Yet like a snowflake , commercial value has a six-sided structure , and it is quite beautiful when you can see it up close .
Each of us buys with our gut , head and heart . Within each of these drivers , there is a left-brained ( quantifiable ) and right-brained ( qualitative ) attribute for value . When we can explain the value of our offering according to these attributes , it helps us to talk about what we do in a way that speaks directly to the gut , head and hearts of our prospective buyers . Firstly , visceral ( or gut ) value attributes include cost and risk . Author and neuroendocrinologist Dr Deepak Chopra says that gut feelings are “ every cell in our body making a decision ”. Buying decisions are often triggered by fear , and we can help our customers to understand and protect against their fears .
Secondly , buyers value logical attributes like productivity and reduced complexity . The head drives logic , and most of us have way too much going on in there to be logical about all of it . This phenomenon is known as cognitive load , and we can play a role in reducing this burden for our customers .
Finally , buyers value aspirational attributes like quality and connectivity . Buyers want to make an impact and create a legacy . Understanding this , we can set our customers on a different – smarter and better – path than they would be able to choose on their own .
When you are pitching for new business , thinking more laterally about the commercial value you generate - and not just the work you do - helps you to move your attention from inwards on yourself , to outwards on the customer and their needs . This , in turn helps to break down the intangibility barrier we face when selling services , and protects us against commoditisation .
Robyn Haydon is the author of three books on business development : her Winning Business series includes Winning Again ( customer retention ), The Shredder Test ( winning proposals ) and the recently-released Value : how to talk about what you do so people want to buy it . Visit www . robynhaydon . com
24 ModernBusiness October 2016