Figuring out your value proposition can often be a tricky thing. And even if you know what your value prop is, it can be easy to fall into the trap of not mentioning it and skipping to talk primarily about your products and features.
Here is one of my favorite clips from the show Mad Men. In this clip, Don Draper is presenting a pitch to one of his clients. Watch the clip and then we will break down why this is a good example of how to focus on your value proposition.
It’s a pretty powerful scene, huh? Now let’s break this down, and before we look at what Don did well, let’s start out by considering what an average salesperson or marketer may have communicated when talking about Kodak’s slide projector.
Product-Focused Pitch
If we follow our natural instincts when trying to sell a product to a prospect, we jump to talking about the product itself. This is understandable – we want to sell the product, so talk about the product, right?
This is an OK approach, but it is not the most powerful way to go.
Staying with the Kodak example, here is what someone might say with a more product-focused sales pitch.
This is our revolutionary slide projector. It allows you to take all of your pictures and put them into slides and then you can project those images on a wall. You will be able to fill a wheel of slides so that you can flip through them in a sort of slide show. This allows you to easily share your pictures with a room full of family and friends.
Value-Focused Pitch
Now, let’s consider how Don Draper shifted what he said to focus more on his value proposition. Here are some of the key things he said:
This device is not a spaceship, it is a time machine. It goes backwards. Forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again.
It let’s us travel the way a child travels. Around and around. And back home again. To a place where we know we are loved.
When Don describes this, he is not talking about the product and how it works. He is talking about the value that the product offers. He is communicating what the product offers or does for the buyer or user and how it makes them feel. He is describing the value that is delivered.
Comparing the Two Sales Pitch Examples
If we go back to look at the product-focused pitch, it is actually not that bad. It does a good job of describing what the product does. But there is a time when this pitch works best, and that is when you have a captive audience. Captive in terms of a prospect that is interested in learning more.
But the challenge here is that when most salespeople are prospecting, they are reaching out to prospects who are not interested yet. And when you use a product-focused pitch at this point, what you say can miss the real powerful punch that you need to get things going.
This is where using a sales pitch that is more tied to your value proposition can help, as it can create that slight intrigue and curiosity to get things going. You lead with this message at the beginning of a cold call, a conversation at a networking event, or a presentation. You can then get to the product portion of your pitch later when you have that captive audience.
SalesScripter helps you to develop a sales pitch that focuses on your value proposition.