DYI Workout: Value Proposition Crossfit ⚡️

To practice on your own or with friends

Hi fellow solopreneurs,
On Friday we’ve done the first Value Proposition Crossfit workshop of the Gym 🙌

Here are all the 8 exercises we’ve gone through, for you to practice on your own or with friends/peers around you - for each product or service that you want to define or refine in terms of value proposition.

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Preparation

• Set aside about 1h without multitasking for this

• Pick one product or service of yours that you want to work on

• Pen and paper (or digital note taking app)

What will help you make the most of this exercise:

• Take your supplements before the practice session = read up

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Exercises

Exercise 1

• Describe your offering (product/service) in max. 2 phrases.

• Format: Name of offering, what it does, for whom.

Exercise 2

• List top 3 needs that you're addressing with this offering, for the people (customer segment) you help.

• Format: 1. (need), 2. (need), 3. (need)

Exercise 3

• List minimum 3 competitors that provide offerings to the same people you are targeting.

• Format: 1. (Competitor 1 and what they offer), 2. (Competitor 2 and what they offer) and so on

Exercise 4

• List what customers expect from all solutions / offerings (the table stakes attributes / basic expectations / point of parity for all offerings)

• Format: Attributes 1, 2, 3 and so on

5 min break

Exercise 5

• List what top 3 competitors are offering as differentiated value besides the table stakes listed above.

• Differentiated value = differentiated elements of value / delighters / points of difference / magic sauce.

• Format: Competitor 1 - attributes 1, 2, 3 and so on; Competitor 2 - ... and so on

Exercise 6

• List 5+ differentiated elements of value that you offer / could offer to the customer segment through your offering

• Brainstorm mode only (don't waste lots of time evaluating)

• Inspiration - see Value Prop Supplements: elements of B2B value

• Format: Attributes 1, 2, 3 and so on

Exercise 7

• Prioritize the differentiated elements that you brainstormed based on the importance and willingness to pay - customers’ perspective for both criteria

• Format: (most important attribute, that customers have high willingness to pay for) to (least important)

Exercise 8

• Pick top 2 differentiated elements of value based on the prioritization above (exercise 7 output) + most probable to give you a competitive edge (compared to exercise 5 output).

  • You can then combine these top 2 differentiated elements of value with 1-2 table stakes elements of value to have 3-4 elements of value as the essence of your new value proposition

• Format: Top attribute 1, Top attribute 2

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Wind down

• Take a moment to reflect on the session

  • What have been your biggest insights and takeaways?

  • What will you do next for the product or service you’ve worked on?

• If you enjoyed the exercises, schedule a new session in the future to refine the value proposition that you’ve just defined now

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Async guidance

• If you have any questions while doing the exercises (e.g. need clarifications or examples for any of the exercises), just drop a comment below.

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As this kind of exercises is more fun and engaging when done together, we will definitely have another Value Prop Crossfit workshop down the road.

Till then, the next workshop will be around Willingness to Pay 💸

Stay tuned and keep your business fit,
Bülent

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This is the Solopreneur Gym ⚡️
It’s a gym in the sense that you’re invited to practice and do the reps for the health of your own business. Get inspiration, DIY workouts and access to live practice sessions 👟

Hosted by Bülent Duagi, strategy adviser for CEOs in Tech.