You already know that getting your value proposition right is critical to your business model. You can have the best features, the most perfectly executed presentation, the most stunning price, but no one will ever know of it if they don’t get past your high-level value proposition. But how do you craft such a quality statement?
Continuously looking to perfect your value proposition, you would consult lengthy articles only to find that there’s a jungle of advise out there. What you need is applicable templates from entrepreneurs and investors who have successfully given and taken thousands of pitches, right? So I’ve put together 7 proven templates that are designed to help you to create a clear, compelling value proposition in minutes.
You can download the Value Proposition templates and samples via Slideshare.
Geoff Moore’s Value Positioning Statement
Perhaps the most popular, in the seminal book Crossing the Chasm, Geoff Moore suggests a template for creating your value positioning. In addition to the below he introduces a second statement focused on competitive positioning or differentiation (see for your self).
Template
For ____________ (target customer)
who ____________ (statement of the need or opportunity)
our (product/service name) is ____________ (product category)
that (statement of benefit) ____________ .
Sample(s)
For non-technical marketers
who struggle to find return on investment in social media
our product is a web-based analytics software that translates engagement metrics into actionable revenue metrics.
Venture Hacks’ High-Concept Pitch
According to one Miss Snark, high-concept is a term borrowed from the movies (consider “Jaws in Space” = Alien). In Pitching Hacks Nivi and Navel of Venture Hacks share several examples of this technique applied to that of startups.
Template
[Proven industry example] for/of [new domain].
Sample(s)
Flickr for video.
Friendster for dogs.
The Firefox of media players.
Steve Blank’s XYZ
Steve Blank writes that Value Proposition is a ten-dollar phrase describing a company’s product or service. It’s the “what are you building and selling?” He suggests the following format for creating a value proposition statement that other people understand.
Template
“We help X do Y doing Z”.
Sample(s)
We help non-technical marketers discover return on investment in social media by turning engagement metrics into revenue metrics.
Vlaskovits & Cooper’s CPS
In their Cheat Guide to Customer Development, Cooper and Vlaskovits use what they call a Customer-Problem-Solution presentation.
Template
Customer: ____________ (who your customer is).
Problem: ____________(what problem you’re solving for the customer).
Solution: ____________ (what is your solution for the problem).
Sample(s)
Customer: I believe my best customers are small and medium-sized business (SMB) markets.
Problem: Who cannot easily measure campaign ROI because existing solutions are too expensive, complicated to deploy, display a dizzying array of non-actionable charts.
Solution: Low cost, easy to deploy analytics system designed for non-technical marketers who need actionable metrics.
Dave McClure’s Elevator Ride
In his How to Pitch a VC presentation Dave McClure presents a 3-step check list for creating positioning statements.
Template
- Short, simple, memorable; what, how, why.
- 3 keywords or phrases
- KISS (no expert jargon)
Sample(s)
- “Mint.com is the free, easy way to manage your money online.”
David Cowan’s Pitchcraft
Although a more elaborative one David Cowan shares some useful guidelines in Practicing the Art of Pitchcraft. I’ve put together a summary.
Template
- Highlight the enormity of the problem you are tackling.
- Tell the audience up front what your company sells.
- Distill the differentiation down to one, easy-to-comprehend sentence.
- Establish credibility by sharing the pedigree of the entrepreneurs, customers, or the investors.
Sample(s)
One person dies of melanoma every 62 minutes.
We offer a dermatoscope app for iPhone that enables people to easily diagnose their skin,
leveraging patented pattern recognition technology trusted by the World Health Organization.
The VAD approach
In a previous blog post on value propositions I set out to learn from Guy Kawasaki. On his blog I found that he takes a verb-application-differentiator approach in describing the startups that he’s working with.
Template
[verb; application; differentiator]
Sample(s)
Share PowerPoint and Keynote slides including audio (Slideshare).
Create and write blogs via email (Posterous).
Make VOIP calls easily and cheaply (JaJah).
Eric Sink’s Value Positioning
Eric Sink writes that marketing is somewhat like an iceberg – the part sticking out of the water is highly visible. For this he suggest the following format for positioning.
Template
Superlative (“why choose this product”).
Label (“what is this product”).
Qualifiers (“who should choose this product”).
Sample(s)
The easiest operating system for netbook PC’s.
The most secure payment gateway for mobile e-commerce.
The bottom line
Dear child has many names; elevator speeches, high-concept pitches, value positioning, unique selling proposition, positioning statement etc. Value Proposition is not just telling people about your product. Value Proposition is also an important technique for describing your Minimum Viable Product and testing what product to build.
Whether you’re battling investors in the elevator, optimizing conversion rate on your website, or attending dinner parties, crafting a clear, compelling value proposition is not easy. It takes trial and error. But the take-away is worth it as you will start getting meetings and converting more customers. What is your value proposition? What approach do you use?
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