Who “owns” your company’s value proposition? From an intellectual property perspective, of course, the company owns their value proposition and their brand. Yet value propositions are effective and impactful because of the people behind them: people like you.
When working with startups and small to midsized businesses, it’s a mess when we focus on value proposition creation. Why? It’s the first time that everyone has a voice in defining how they create value for their company.
Let’s just say that we don’t nail the company’s value proposition on the head at the first workshop.
What is accomplished is that everyone starts percolating on how, why, when and where there are opportunities to create value for each other and their customers. The list is endless.
Business value involves consideration of what’s useful (skills, equipment, premises, intellectual property, etc.) and how it determines your company’s sustainability over time.
You develop value when you:
- perceive your job functionality as creating, implementing and delivering relevant and valuable outcomes for your internal colleagues and your customers;
- regard your employment as more than a commission check with perks; and
- lengthen your professional horizon beyond next quarter’s sales contest or top business award.
You are doing more than walking your company’s value proposition “talk.” You become the physical embodiment of that value proposition for your customers. You wear that mantra like a second skin; it becomes embedded in your professional DNA.
No matter whether you are the CEO of your company or the guy or gal on the loading dock, value creation is an all-in proposition.
This month, keep a journal of opportunities to create value for your colleagues, your company and your customers. Do more than just make another to-do list: take action.
1) Prioritize opportunities;
2) Identify the ones which are easiest to accomplish; and
3) Target opportunities with the longest-lasting impact on business sustainability.
That’s your role in your company’s value proposition. By becoming accountable and responsible for delivering on your role, you grow yourself into an incredibly valuable Businessperson of Worth.
Babette Ten Haken is Founder & President of Sales Aerobics for Engineers®, LLC. She catalyzes business transition, startup growth and professional development. Babette focuses on non-traditional sellers: small to midsize manufacturing and engineering service companies and startups like yours. Her book, Do YOU Mean Business, focuses on collaborative value creation strategies.
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