One Value Prop across team, or many different iterations? **NEED INPUT**

TLDR:

My Boss put me on a brand new product. The entire team involved (My Boss (VP), Marketing Director, Director of Sales, SDR) has different definitions of the value proposition for the product. Boss doesn't think it's an issue. Is this okay?


POST:

Basically, I got put on a new product and my title was transitioned from an AM to an AE. Not a big deal (before I was more of a full-cycle sales rep vs an AM).


The product came out of beta at the beginning of Q4 - we had no marketing collateral, sequences, competitive analysis, nothing. Completely fresh.


But, as we have started to outbound and learn more about this industry (which is immensely saturated with competitors) we still have not agreed to a singular value proposition (on top of differentiators, objection handling, thorough persona buildout). This is for marketing personas.


When I asked my VP, he said (paraphrased) "We just need to get out there and sell. We're learning so much as we complete and outbound this product that one concrete value proposition isn't needed"


And, like.... I disagree? Am I being too uptight about this?


I feel like everyone should know the value proposition, differentiators, competitive talking points, persona pain points, etc. like the back of their hand. All the same across the team to have confidence when outbounding.



๐Ÿ‘‘ Sales Strategy
โ˜๏ธ Software Tech
โœŒ๏ธ Growing Pains
8
funcoupons
WR Officer
7
๐Ÿ‘‘
What kind of fucking donkey suggests selling something without knowing the value prop...? Your VP, apparently. Sounds like a hot mess.
ToniDrake
Contributor
1
SDR
Okay, I was thinking the same thing. We have a generalized idea of a Value Prop, but on Friday I asked every person on the team what the Value Prop was...

I got different answers from every team member. None of us are saying the same thing for the overall product, let alone specific persona-based value propositions.ย 
funcoupons
WR Officer
4
๐Ÿ‘‘
Yeah as @Beansย mentioned, value prop will change based on the buyer but that said, reps should be on the same page for the different ways they approach conversations with different personas...
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
๐ŸฆŠ
How is he gonna make you sell something that he doesn't know how to sell himself? ๐Ÿค”
Beans
Big Shot
3
Enterprise Account Executive
The value prop is going to change based on the persona og the buyer.

For us C levels care about ROI, Engineering/Ops cares about time saved, Quality/Supply Chain cares about quality of data and accessibility.ย 
ToniDrake
Contributor
2
SDR
I totally get that.ย 

The thing that bothers me is the lack of research behind each persona in order to get specific value props for each. We have the same overarching value prop for each persona, but no one can recite it from memory / no one has the same definition! I'M LIKE UGHH.

It's insane.ย 
braintank
Politicker
3
Enterprise Account Executive
Did they talk to any customers when they built the product? I'd start with them.
ToniDrake
Contributor
2
SDR
Good idea - I think we're doing some interviews this week. I appreciate the input!
braintank
Politicker
1
Enterprise Account Executive
Gulp -- usually they talk to customers *before* they build the product.

Regardless, I'd lean heavily on them to explain the "why" behind the buy
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
3
โ˜•๏ธ
One value prop. One value prop. One value prop. One value prop.

Your boss is a halfwit if he doesn't see the problem with different reps and team members pitching the product differently.
AnchorPoint
Politicker
0
Business Coach
Actually... this is not as uncommon as you would think!ย  Even in very large, established organizations.ย  However, a well thought out Sales Story will expand any success.
PresidentSkroob
Opinionated
0
CSM
I think there needs to be an underlying similar theme across the value prop. While it doesn't need to be scripted, I would say a value prop should at least be consistent across the board in certain terminology. (if all else fails, take the tag line from your website)

My company uses an enablement platform that helps sales teams find their words (pitch practice, value prop discussion, etc) and it's actually really helpful. We can see what others are saying from pre-recorded pitches and take what we like and make it our own. Highly recommend a tool like this.
11

AEโ€™s - hereโ€™s a very client-centred way to gather information about โ€˜WHENโ€™ a decision needs to be made. Doing it this way will help you shorten sales cycles and build trust. Keep in mind - not every question I ask in this example is a perfect fit for every buyer, but should give you a good place

Advice
12
4

How many times do you feel like a team meeting should occur?

Question
9
At what interval should team meetings occur?
57% Weekly
31% Bi-weekly
6% Monthly
6% Once a year should do the trick
35 people voted
13

You know those wonderful prospects that will answer the phone and accept a meeting? What if there was a way to share those for our fellow brethren who also have to outbound on similar titles?

Question
18
I would...
28% Share my leads and reach out to prospects
17% Only reach out to others prospects
55% This is hella sus
123 people voted