Value Proposition Development

Stop asking for the sale. Start showing them the gap. Here's how I close six figure projects in under 22 minutes. Not because I'm some sales genius. It's because I focus on what clients care about most. Spoiler alert. It has nothing to do with what I do/make. Here's the formula— Don't skip the 2 B's between A and C. **A = Asking** (Discovery) **B = Baseline** (Where they are) **B = Benchmark** (Where they want to be) **C = Closing** (The decision) Here's how it plays out: Started with asking. Simple questions. "What's the reason for our call today?" Client: "I want to close more clients." "What's your current close rate on proposals?" Client: "38%." "What about your competitors?" Client: "The good ones? Probably 60-65%." "So if you could hit 60%, what would that mean for your business?" He did the math out loud while I followed along. Then I laid out the 2 B's (Baseline & Benchmarks): **Baseline (Their Reality Today)** • Win rate: 38% • Average deal: $400K • Proposals per month: 8 • Monthly revenue: $1.2M **Benchmark (Their Potential Tomorrow)** • Win rate: 60% • Same average deal: $400K • Same proposals: 8 • Monthly revenue: $1.9M "That's $700K per month you're leaving on the table. What's a reasonable amount to invest to achieve this?" Pause. "Does 10-20% sound fair?" His response? "When can we start?" No pitch deck. No feature list. No convincing. Just clarity on the gap. Here's what I've learned in running a service business for 24+ years. The sale isn't in your solution. It's in their realization. When you focus on the 2 B's, you remove all the friction. They stop asking "why should I buy?" and start asking "why haven't I done this already?" The gap sells itself. You're just the bridge. Most people go straight from A to C. They ask a few questions then jump into their pitch. That's like proposing on the first date. Slow down. Quantify their pain. Show them what's possible. Let the gap do the heavy lifting. What's the biggest gap you've helped a client see between their baseline and benchmark? What is the benchmark you help people with? Is it specific, measurable, and time bound? #salesstrategy #businessgrowth #clientmanagement

I fell for it. And I’m a marketer. Walked into Zudio. Walked past the fragrance section.
Saw a bold, bright “FREE” written on a perfume box. 
My Indian brain short-circuited for a second. “FREE?! Really?”
Instantly picked it up.
Spoiler: it wasn’t free.
It’s literally the name of the perfume “FREE by Zudio (For Men)”. But guess what?
That one moment of curiosity did its job.
I noticed the product. Touched it. Engaged with it. Maybe even considered buying it. 
That’s the first win for any brand. Zudio didn’t just sell a fragrance here they played with visual hierarchy, cultural cues, and psychology. Here’s why it worked so well: 1. Bold typography + emotional trigger word:
“Free” in India is like a magnet. It taps into a deep-rooted love for value (or perceived value). 2. Visual Disruption:
The design broke the pattern. It didn’t blend in with the rest, it stood out. So even in a shelf full of options, your eye goes there first. 3. The Power of Touchpoint:
The moment a customer physically interacts with a product, the chances of purchase spike dramatically. You’ve already imagined owning it. 4. Curiosity-Driven Engagement:
Even if you don’t buy it today, you remember it. It leaves a cognitive imprint. Marketing takeaway?
Sometimes, you don’t need a discount to draw attention.
You just need to know how people think, feel, and react. So here’s to brands like Zudio for giving us a real-time case study in consumer behaviour - one bold font at a time. (P.S. No, I didn’t buy it. But I almost did. And that’s still a marketing win.) #ConsumerPsychology #RetailMarketing #Zudio #Branding #MarketingStrategy #ImpulseBuying #PerceptionMatters #IndianRetail #UXinRealLife #BrandExperience #QuirkyMarketing

The recent transformations within leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies signify a paradigm shift underscored by the necessity to adapt to evolving consumer preferences. As these brands pivot away from traditional food categories toward personal care and wellness, they are responding to critical market dynamics: shrinking profit margins in food sectors, a surge in health-conscious consumer behavior, and eroding brand loyalty among food products. This transition illustrates how businesses must not only recognize but anticipate changes in consumer values, particularly the growing inclination towards premium self-care and wellness products. The implications of this shift are profound. For instance, while the global personal care market is projected to reach $758 billion by 2030, the sluggish growth within processed food sectors signals a pressing need for CPG leaders to innovate continually. The evidence revealed through L'Oréal’s robust revenue growth in skincare juxtaposed with declines in traditional food categories serves as a clarion call for all CPG firms: the future lies in aligning product offerings with consumer demands for personalization, health optimization, and quality over quantity. Thus, the critical question posed to FMCG executives is not merely one of survival but of strategic foresight: Are you actively redefining your brand strategy to harness the potential of emerging categories, or are you resigned to merely managing a downward trajectory? This moment is not just about adaptation; it represents an opportunity for reinvention and sustained relevance in a rapidly changing consumer landscape.

Value Proposition is an essential term for PMs. But it's largely misunderstood. And everyone defines it differently. It doesn't help that the most popular canvas: - Focuses on multiple products - Lumps jobs, pains, and gains without explaining their connections - Doesn't clarify what gain/pain relief each feature addresses - Doesn’t mention existing alternatives or workarounds Recently, Aatir Abdul Rauf and I collaborated to bring some order. A good value proposition defines: 1. Who is the value for: Persona 2. Why is it important: Jobs to be Done 3. What before: Existing, problematic state (e.g., maintaining tasks in Excel) 4. How: Features and capabilities (e.g., Kanban board) 5. What after: The benefits and outcomes (e.g., organized tasks with clear deadlines, increased productivity) 6. Alternatives: your unique value, unique attributes, and optionally relative pricing vs. competitors and substitutes (often represented as a Value Curve). What I loved about this format is that it allows you to tell the story. Value propositions are great alignment tools for PMs, leadership, and cross-functional teams. They are also an essential part of your product strategy. If: - Your product solves specific problems way better than alternatives - You message it effectively - You can quickly and easily onboard your customers ("Aha moment") - Your product delivers the benefits promised Your customers will be unable to resist. --- Hope that helps. 🎁 A free template (Google Docs): https://lnkd.in/d59tbVJy --- P.S. You can download 30+ high-definition product infographics here (PDF): https://lnkd.in/d5bHGj5j And here, you can read our full post with case studies: https://lnkd.in/du9zcZDA

Your value isn’t decided by the person who can’t see it. Sometimes people miss what’s right in front of them. This. ould be because of budget, bias, timing, fear, or simple misalignment. That’s information, not a verdict. A diamond can look dull in bad lighting; the diamond didn’t change. In business and in life, the wrong audience will ask you to shrink. The right audience will ask when you can start. Your job is to hold your standard, not hunt for permission. Here’s the play that never fails: Define your value. Tie what you do to clear outcomes instead of tasks. Revenue lifted, risk reduced, speed gained. Signal your value. Show receipts: case studies, testimonials, before/after metrics. Price in alignment with results. Protect your value. Say no to bad fits, scope creep, and respect discounts. Walking away is a growth strategy. Deliver your value. Over-communicate, set expectations, and make impact visible. Consistency compounds credibility. If someone can’t see your worth, change the room. The people who are meant for your work won’t need convincing; they’ll be grateful they found you.

Price is never just a figure. It represents how the market perceives the value you deliver. When businesses start thinking this way, they stop racing to the bottom and begin leading with clarity and purpose. That is where lasting profitability begins. Many companies still assume customers base their decisions on price alone. That assumption has cost them significantly. When I started helping businesses uncover what their customers truly value, everything shifted. I saw companies dramatically increase their growth and improve margins by 25 to 40 percent. This success didn’t come from cutting expenses, but from aligning pricing with real customer value instead of relying on guesswork. At Sjöfors & Partners - Pricing for Profits and Growth, we created a process that combines value research, predictive analytics, and artificial intelligence to identify what motivates a customer to buy and what they are genuinely willing to pay. The focus is not on being the lowest priced option. It is becoming the most valued option. When companies understand this, profitability naturally follows. #PricingStrategy #ValueBasedPricing #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessGrowth #Profitability #CustomerCentric

Many founders treat pricing as a revenue optimization problem. Figure out the product first, scale usage, then monetize. That's backwards. Pricing isn't about extracting money. It's about discovering whether you built something people actually value. At Gamma, we used pricing as a proxy for value and kept it pretty much the same for over 2 years. Free usage will lie to you (especially for B2B and prosumer products). Usage spikes feel like PMF. They're not. Usage without payment tests your onboarding, not your value. If you come out with too generous of a free plan, you'll never know what true willingness to pay looks like. Here's how to use pricing as a proxy for value: 1. Pick your value metric Choose the thing customers actually hire you for. Documents generated. API calls. Minutes transcribed. At Gamma, we gated by AI credits as the primary value metric, with business levers like custom branding. 2. Draw a hard boundary between free and paid Let people experience the "aha," then stop them at a generous but bounded gate. We gave users plenty of AI credits up front. Once they hit the limit: upgrade for access to more AI. 3. Research your range, then let behavior decide We used Van Westendorp to find our starting range. Ask users four price points: too cheap to trust, good value, getting expensive, too expensive to consider. Plot where these intersect to bracket your range. Then test a few prices within it. Research shows what people say they'll pay - conversion shows what they actually do. We watched free-to-paid conversion and early churn signals, picked the winner, and moved on. 4. Instrument retention and talk to customers Track whether paid users keep crossing your value threshold each week. Stay close to customers through power-user communities or direct outreach. Ask questions like: "What job were you hiring us for?" and "What would justify a higher price?" 5. Treat pricing changes like product pivots Once you've validated pricing, the only reason to change it is if you've fundamentally changed what you're selling. We haven't changed ours in two years because the value metric (AI usage) hasn't changed. Constantly repricing means you're still searching for product-market fit. Why this matters: Pricing early clarifies who values you, which channels convert, and which segments to double down on. You're better off launching pricing way earlier so you can see who's actually willing to pay for it.

Stop guessing your growth path. Map it instead with the Lean Canvas model. Last year a client was losing cash after a bad investment. Their Board wanted a clear plan, but management's ideas were scattered. Pressure rose as their cash runway shrank. I used a blank Lean Canvas and met with management. Box by box, we turned fuzzy thoughts into clear statements. In a few hours, the team could see the whole business on one page. A week later, decisions sped up, waste was cut, and revenue began increasing. The Board praised the new focus because just one sheet had replaced weeks of endless slides. 1. Start with the Problem box because pain fuels purchase: ⇀ List the top three headaches your market hates. ⇀ Ask customers for blunt complaints. ⇀ Rank pains by urgency and frequency.  ⇀ If the pain is weak, the plan is weak. 2. Name the Customer Segments who wake up with that pain: ⇀ Avoid lumping everyone together - be precise. ⇀ Describe one real person, not a demographic blur. ⇀ Note where they already search for help. ⇀ Specific faces drive focused solutions. 3. Your Unique Value Proposition attracts attention: ⇀ Write it like a headline your customer would repeat. ⇀ Highlight the biggest outcome, not features. ⇀ Short, clear value wins the click. ⇀ Keep it under ten words. 4. Now sketch your Solution: ⇀ Draft three bare-bones features solving each top pain. ⇀ Mockup screens or sketches quickly. ⇀ Show them to five prospects tomorrow. ⇀ Speed beats perfection in early design. 5. Channels tell you how messages travel to wallets: ⇀ Pick the two cheapest tests before buying ads. ⇀ Leverage existing communities and email lists. ⇀ Measure response time and cost per lead. ⇀ Cheap learning outruns expensive guessing. 6. Revenue Streams prove the idea can feed itself: ⇀ State exactly who pays, how much, and how often. ⇀ Compare price to the pain’s current cost. ⇀ Pilot a single pricing tier first. ⇀ Real cash beats hypothetical guesses. 7. Analyse Cost Structure for sustainability: ⇀ List the three largest costs and make them variable. ⇀ Negotiate monthly, not annual, contracts. ⇀ Lean costs preserve runway for learning. ⇀ Automate before hiring. 8. Key Metrics keep founders honest on progress: ⇀ Choose one north-star metric and two support numbers. ⇀ Link each metric to habit or revenue. ⇀ Track weekly in one simple dashboard. ⇀ What gets graphed gets fixed faster. 9. Finally, name your Unfair Advantage: ⇀ This is the asset rivals can’t match. ⇀ Lean on unique data, patents, or proven community. ⇀ Document founder expertise that speed cannot buy. ⇀ Without moats, margins leak. 10. Don't forget to summarise your high-level concept and identify early adopters too. Review our lean canvas model weekly to stay on track with your strategy. What's your favourite strategic model? ------- ♻️ Repost to help others in your network. Follow Jonathan Maharaj FCPA for more insights on accounting, finance and leadership.

PMMs, Stop saying your product is "better" 14 ways you should differentiate 👇 Check out this masterclass by Scott Jones (Scott is the SVP Marketing at Agentsync) Let's dive in! 👇 Scott has been launching B2B products for 25 years. The biggest challenge for PMMs? Differentiation. You need to show EXACTLY how you're better. With concrete specific examples. 📌 First, understand why B2B buyers make changes: There are only 4 scenarios that drive B2B purchase decisions: 1. More for less: Better outcomes, lower investment 2. More for same: Better outcomes, same spend 3. More for more: Better outcomes, higher investment (rare) 4. Same for less: Same outcomes, lower costs The key? You're not just competing against other vendors. You're really fighting: - Status quo (manual processes) - Internal development - Alternative vendors Here's how to prove you're actually better: 1️⃣ Every claim needs THREE elements: 1. Defendable adjectives with metrics 2. Clear "from/to" state 3. Demonstrable capabilities 2️⃣ Scott shared 14 concrete ways to differentiate: The gold standard? "New and never achieved" Example: "First platform to fully automate account targeting, media execution, and paid optimization in real-time" But there are 13 others including: - More actionable - More comprehensive - More responsive - More compliant - More accurate - More predictable 3️⃣ You need THESE for enterprise deals - Steering committee sign-off - Multiple management layers - CFO approval That's why... Your differentiation must tie to financial outcomes like: "Company X reduced spend from $5M to $4M" "Company Y grew topline 15% YoY" 📌 TLDR for you PMMs; Stop saying you're "better." Start proving it with: 1. Customer validation 2. Financial outcomes 3. Concrete metrics -- P.S. What else would you add PMMs? (Make sure you give Scott a follow btw!)

An eye-opening observation about strategic SaaS deals: Transformation deals don’t have to take 18 months. Here's how to cut big deal sales cycles by 50%: 1/ Create a distinct point of view for your industry (Discovery) Most sellers fail to articulate a broad vision for the industry they work in and focus on what their company does. That will drastically limit your deal size. Instead, become a “performance curator” using your existing largest customers. Leverage their facts and stories to paint a clear picture of the big vision in their space and generate authentic curiosity. This will help with gathering meaningful data during Discovery and move you faster to the Insights stage. 2/ Actively collaborate with the prospect on how to change (Insights) Most sellers take way too long to get to the Insights stage, if it all. They think closing a deal is solely about teaching and persuading, rather than collaborating and co-designing something together. After gathering and receiving the prospect’s data, now will be the time when you bring together their change drivers and your subject matter experts (SMEs). I found the best way to do this is set up a design session, or what’s known as a “Lighthouse Workshop.” The goal of the session is to suspend limiting beliefs and get out of status-quo thinking. This is where both sides can open up on how to ideally tackle big problems and go after “moonshot” ideas.” 3/ Drive home why the prospect needs to change now (Accelerate) After too much time passes on working a large deal, most sellers get frustrated and deal-fatigued. This is when they get sloppy, succumb to the pressures of their management, and default to discounting to try to accelerate deal closure. That leads to an erosion of trust and quickly devaluing your solution. Instead, after completing a successful design session together where you architected the ideal way to operate, develop a narrative proposal and business case to secure (or create) budget. Make sure both executive sponsors (yours and theirs) sign off on it before it gets positioned inside their org. Both sides should have their hands on the proposal, ensuring it includes their specific terminology, initiatives, and realistic KPIs. This will help you accelerate closing the deal without compromising your reputation or cutting costs unnecessarily. If you're struggling to close large transformation deals within a calendar year, these are 3 great ways to enhance your approach. And remember this mantra at all times: "Less, but better." You already know quality is better than quantity at this level of sales... But are you truly living it? Those at the top are. 🐝