CLARIFY YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION

In a very competitive market for professional services, prospective clients need to know why they should hire you instead of someone else. Your value proposition tells them. It defines why you are uniquely suitable for a specific set of potential clients.

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You are not the right professional for every possible user of professionals. Rather, you are the right professional for a particular target market. Defining that market helps you focus on its needs, build your capabilities to met those needs, and craft your communications to reach people in that market.

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Your value proposition likely builds on your expertise -- the deep knowledge and experience that you have. But it can also include:

• The quality of the relationship you offer; it may be distinctive.

• Your ability to solve business problems because you supplement technical expertise with business skills.

• Your outstanding “soft skills” (e.g., communication, listening, teamwork, cross-cultural understanding) complement your expertise. 

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An individual practitioner needs a value proposition. If you are part of a larger firm, you need an individual value proposition that fits with your firm’s value proposition (and your firm needs a clear value proposition too).

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To learn more, read our article on defining your value proposition.