A Solution Engineer's Brief Guide To Value & Purpose

Solution Engineering is almost a religion. We place our hand atop our leather-bound copy of Demo2Win and recite ...

"I promise to demo the value proposition, the whole value proposition, and nothing but the value proposition ..."

So your demo is only as good as the underlying value proposition. Right? But what constitutes a winning value proposition?

A Winning Value Proposition

I first learned to build and articulate winning value propositions 15 years ago. The irreducible value proposition had three essential elements:

1. WHAT you are going to do for your customer? These are the tangible benefits of selecting your solution.
2. HOW are you going to do it? This is the solution you intend to deliver.
3. WHERE have you done this before? Essentially, what proof do you have that your claims are accurate?

So, your irreducible value proposition might read ...

"By implementing our mobile commerce solution, your company can increase annual revenues by $7.8 million in the first year. We have implemented solutions at ABC Inc and XYX Corporation who have achieved a similar return on investment."

Of course, your ROI claims need to be backed up by a solid business case, and your reference customers need to be willing to share their own experiences. Then you need to construct the detail underneath, including the solution functionality that directly relates to the claimed benefits. So far, so good.

But I always felt there was something missing.

The Importance of WHY

In 2009, author and speaker, Simon Sinek recorded one of the most watched TED talks of all time. Entitled, "Start With Why" it filled in the missing link. The underlying purpose of why a company (or a person) does what they do. Their raison d'etre, or North Star if you prefer.

If you can link your value proposition to their purpose, you can gain a significant advantage over your competitors.

Where do you look for a company's purpose?

I usually start by searching for their mission statement or chairman's letter in annual reports (and other high level company publications). It could be anything from transforming the shopping experience for consumers, to reducing life-threatening illness in third-world countries. Whatever it is, you need to find it and link your solutions to this higher purpose.

Try using the "Downward Arrow" technique I described in one of my earlier blogs.

Bringing It All Together

I find that once I have a clear and differentiated value proposition, presentations and demos are much easier to structure. By starting with your customer's WHY, you can logically follow-up with the how, what and where.

The mantra for the solution engineer should be to demo the value proposition; nothing more and nothing less. Resist the urge to show everything you have. Resist the urge to submerge in the complexities of your solution. Design your demos with tell-show-tell loops that focus on the main elements delivering value for your customer.

What if you have tons of functionality that's all valuable?

The Rocks-Pebbles-Sand Technique

To prioritise your demo functionality and get your main points across, imagine you have an empty jar representing your allotted demo time. Your primary value areas are the rocks, other important functional value-drivers are the pebbles and lesser (but nonetheless important) areas are the sand.

Now, you wouldn't fill the jar with sand first. You wouldn't be able to fit your rocks in. Neither would you fill the jar with pebbles. The optimum approach is obvious: firstly get as many rocks in the jar as possible, then fill the gaps with pebbles. Finally, pour in the sand to fill all the smaller gaps. It's the same with your demo planning.

Mixing It Up

Although your demo will be a large part of your value proposition, think about how you can deliver the entire package in an engaging, educational and entertaining way. [Yes, entertaining! You're allowed to have some fun, you know.]

I realise this requires close collaboration and choreography with the other members of your sales team. Value-based selling is a team sport.

I'm not one of those Powerpoint haters. (A bad worker often blames his/her tools.) But I would urge you to mix powerful imagery with storytelling techniques. Introduce multimedia too (video and even music to set the right emotional mood).

Whiteboarding is a powerful technique to (literally) draw out the value of your proposition and flip-flop between your demo and the whiteboard to make a strong connection between functionality and business value.

Talking The Talk

For the solution demo itself, always rehearse the narrative to ensure it's value-based and not feature-function focused. If you've set the scene and have a solid and purposeful value proposition, it should make your job easier.

For more tips and techniques on this, take a look at my blog, "The Solution Engineer's Guide to Banishing The Feature Function Show (#FFS)".

Solid Foundations

A purposeful, solid value proposition is the foundation for everything that follows in a winning sales cycle, including your demo. Work on getting it right from the start and your sales campaign will be cohesive and coherent.

Try to reduce the value proposition to the simplest viable form and use it as a theme for all customer communications, whether it's an email, RFP response or presentation. Test it with your customer frequently to ensure it aligns with their purpose as well as delivering the best value.

Have I missed anything? I'd love to hear your views.

I enjoy blogging about Customer Experience, Digital Marketing and, of course, Solution Engineering.

Related articles:

• 4th Generation Solution Engineering
• Who Wants To Be A Solution Engineer?
• Why Solution Engineers Quit
• Is There Life After Solution Engineering?
• The Solution Engineer's Essential Guide To Objection Handling
• The Solution Engineer's Guide to Banishing The Feature Function Show (#FFS)

You can view my other blog posts here. And why not follow me on Twitter: @CxDaryn