Messaging

In sales and marketing, effective messaging is of critical importance. We have all heard the terms “elevator speech,” “unique selling proposition” and “value proposition.” All too often, however, people make the mistake of using these terms interchangeably.

To sort out the important distinctions among these related concepts, check the three messaging terms below.

Elevator Speech

Describes in one sentence your target market and how your product or service helps them. Delivered in 10-15 seconds, the elevator speech should be crisp and concise. Because its primary purpose is to stimulate discussion, the elevator speech is especially useful when you are networking or meeting people for the first time. It answers the question “What does your company do?”

Ex.: “We help medium-size companies sell their products to the U.S. government.”

Value Proposition

Describes the measurable results that a customer can expect from buying your product or service. It is a statement that is clear, concise and specific in terms of results.

Ex.: “We help high-tech companies increase their revenues, shorten their sales cycles and improve their win rates. Let us show you how we achieved these results for ACME Medical today.”

Unique Selling Proposition

Describes what sets your company, products or services apart from the competition. The purpose of the USP is to create competitive differentiation.

Ex.: “We help companies that sell high-tech products improve their funnel-to-forecast accuracy by 10% or more, or we refund our fee in total.

Sales Ready Messaging

Selling is a series of conversations with buying influences.

During these conversations the sales person determines what each buying influence is trying to accomplish, fix or avoid and then positions their company’s product accordingly. The role of the marketing department is to provide the sales person with effective sales-ready messaging that will influence the conversation with each buying influence. In some situations this sales-ready messaging will be a series of very specific questions to ask. In other situations it will suggest the use of analytical tools, proof sources or supportive documentation.

Appropriate and effective sales-ready messaging is constantly evolving to the changing demands of the market place and competition. When sales-ready messaging is provided, it aligns the sales and marketing organization around the needs of customers. The end result is sales-ready messaging helps sales professionals win more deals consistently and repeatedly and with shorter sales cycles.