Value Proposition – 001

October 22, 2018

By Robert Pope

I love a strong value proposition. The reason I get so excited about this topic is that I have experienced it both ways – a very strong value proposition and a weak value proposition. Actually, we have experienced both of those extremes at Nexus over the past 18 years. A weak value proposition is very painful. A strong value proposition is a lot of fun.

What is a value proposition?

The delivery of goods or services that are valued by the purchaser – therefore — the buyer is willing to hand you their cash because they want what you have to offer. That is the Bob definition. The official definitions are a bit more academic.

My first venture into entrepreneurism was starting a painting business during college. The value proposition was solid. Many people either hate painting or they aren’t good at it. I was a college student that didn’t charge a lot so it was very easy for my customers to see strong value.

Large companies are not immune from this challenge. After graduating, I saw this principle play out at two Fortune 500 companies. The majority of that time was at Honeywell where a weak value proposition made it feel like we were rowing upstream every single day.

When I entered the consulting business, my value proposition was very weak and as a result income suffered. Value is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder in this case (my customers) did not see much value.

When Lorie and I started Nexus, we had a boatload to learn. Within two or three years, we recognized that we had an issue and needed to increase our value proposition significantly. It took several more years to turn the ship but, thankfully, we did get it pointed in the right direction.   Now that we have found that sweet spot, we concentrate on increasing the value daily. What a difference it makes!

Is your company’s value proposition increasing or decreasing?

Quote from an unknown source –

“Success is not owned. It is rented. And the rent is due every single day!”