In this post we share some highlights from our interview with Daniel Nilsson, CEO of the Sweden-based Consulting Firm Up Strategy Lab, and Co-Founder of MuchSkills. To listen to the full podcast, click here.

What is a B2B value proposition?

• A B2B value proposition is the thing that will make your prospect want to move forward in the sales process; It is a clear statement of the outcomes they can expect.

• It is not a glowing description or a slogan.

The customer’s perspective is critical to building a strong value proposition. How do you think from their perspective throughout the process?

• Listen to your customer Above All Else. Take a look at this video by Clayton Christensen recounting how he applied this principle when working with McDonald’s to formulate the world’s best milkshake proposition.

• Remember, we are affected by time. We tend to believe that whatever we have heard from customers in the last 2 weeks reflects all our customers. Avoid this pitfall.

• Focus on empathy for the customer and their needs and priorities.

• Question the assumptions in the room constantly.

How can sales leaders drive value for their teams?

• Recognize there is not one, but many value propositions for their business.

• Place all of the value propositions in order of importance based on your target buyer

  •  Try this tool from Strategizer, their value proposition canvas

  •  Rank the value propositions based on what the customer feels is the most important

•  A value proposition, in a sales context, is a set of micro-stories put together

  • A sales leader can have a single value proposition story that can be applied to all sales situations

  • The best salespeople will learn how to adjust their value stories, based on what they know about the customer they are talking to

How do you translate this into a compelling pitch deck?

• When you are starting out, focus on building a great pitch deck and reflecting your value proposition on your website.

• The pitch deck is like a little movie, with you as the narrator.

• Each slide should be single-minded, focused on one element of your story, with a clear headline.

• Allow yourself to put a little more text on each side so it can travel as a PDF on its own.

Playbooks provided for free to your customers can be an excellent way to bring your value to life

• Consider designing and creating a guide for your prospects.

• Offer it for free on your website, not hidden behind a form or log-in wall.

• Include lots of links to other external web sources to enable improved SEO for your site.

• Don’t go cheap. Make this play book valuable and impressive for your prospects so that they come back to you for more.