Last weekend my daughter and her Nana peddled their custom jewelry in the basement of the Hopkins American Legion. It was Buggy’s first craft fair, and she was a wound up ball of jittery energy as we drove to the event, bubbling over with nervous chatter about negotiation tactics, possible price reductions as time went on, and if she might see her friends there.
After we settled in and staged their sales table, we strolled around the Legion basement to watch other vendors prepare their own tables and to see what other local artists were selling. Pottery, paintings, book covers, candies, candles, diamond art… and then we arrived at a table with two junior high kids selling farm fresh eggs and homemade body butter.
For any vendor, not just two farm kids from North Branch, this table design was perfection. They had a balanced staging of eggs, lotions, and informational marketing material about their family, their farm, and why they do what they do. They had beautifully designed informational brochures, business cards, and ways to sign up for news and information about their farm and new products. The kids offered samples for us to try and there was a well-displayed and sturdy “why they do what they do” outlined behind them on a poster board supported by a (rather fancy looking) easel.
When the younger of the two kids confidently welcomed me to the table and thanked me for stopping by, she asked me point blank if I ever felt like I needed a lotion close by because my hands felt dry. This kid identified my need instantly, and then she lasered in on it. She explained that she had eczema her whole life, and nothing her mom or dad found at the store helped her skin at all, and sometimes those store-bought products even made her condition worse. She was miserable. Her family, in desperation, went about researching different gentle oils they could blend together that were safe to use on her young skin but still worked effectively for her eczema. They tried tens of different varieties of essential oil blends and it took their family ages to find just the right mixture. They measured, recorded, and duplicated precisely with this very recipe I was holding in my hands at that moment. (How did this jar end up in my hands? I don’t know. This kid was mesmerizing.)
She testified that they somehow discovered the best product not yet on the market, made with care by a loving family, and I had the privilege of being one of the first people to be granted the opportunity to try it. Also they have eggs to sell, and homemade cards. “Here, try a sample of the body butter and I know you’ll be back before the end of the fair to buy whatever I don’t still have in stock.”
What did she do that was so effective? She identified and illustrated a very specific value proposition, and I was completely hooked. I chatted with her for about fifteen minutes and learned that her folks were both in sales, and that she and her sister were learning from their parents how to effectively show people that they need this product.
FUNDAMENTALS OF A VALUE PROPOSITION
If I weren’t about to teach a class on this very topic the following week, I might not have picked up on many of these details, so let’s unpack them together. Below is a list of the fundamental aspects of an effective Value Proposition as well as how this little peanut managed to knock it out of the park.
- A Value Proposition is unique, memorable, and persuasive.
- Their display was incredible and the marketing materials they designed for the even were beautiful. These kids stood out as professionals amongst quite a few hobbyist hawkers.
- A Value Proposition addresses specific and special needs of their audience.
- These kids identified a specific need (dry hands), related themselves to that specific need (eczema), and explained how their product would absolutely satisfy that specific need.
- A Value Proposition states why the service or product is worth what it is.
- She identified the labor and materials needed to curate the perfect concoction for their body butters, and she noted that the quality of their product is unmatched by other local vendors in their category.
- A Value Proposition holds accountable to high standards.
- This family testifies that they measure their ingredients precisely and that if I bought a jar of lotion from them today and loved it, I could find them at the next craft fair and buy another of the exact quality and ingredients.
WHAT IS YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION?
If that kid can put forth such a pitch, we can too, dangit.
What about you and your business is unique and memorable?
What needs do your clients have that you can identify clearly and illustrate how you can help meet those needs?
What will you do for your clients to earn your commission and trust?
What will you commit to in order to stay accountable to a higher standard?
It doesn’t have to be rocket science, my friends. It just has to be clear and it has to be from your heart.
You’ve got this. I believe in you. Go tune up your Value Proposition.
Onward,
Coach Lins