Creating Value Propositions That Resonate

Handle objections like a six-figure salesperson It’s not about talent—it’s about preparation. Here’s how to tackle objections effectively: → Anticipate common objections, plan your responses. → Reframe objections into opportunities to add value. → Practice these strategies until they become second nature. 👉 Get more cheat sheets like this: sign up for SalesDaily Premium: salesdaily.co/upgrade Here are 12 common sales objections and how to respond to them: 1.) We’re already working with another vendor. ⇢ Acknowledge their loyalty and ask what they value most. ⇢ Differentiate by emphasizing areas where you outperform competitors. ⇢ Ask: “What’s one thing you wish they did better?” 2.) This isn’t a priority. ⇢ Show understanding and suggest exploring how you can prevent a specific problem later. ⇢ Ask: “Would a quick chat now help for when it does become a priority?” 3.) We don’t have the budget. ⇢ Use humor or empathy to acknowledge their constraints. ⇢ Offer a preview so they can assess if it should be on their radar for next year. ⇢ Ask: “Would that work for you?” 4.) I need to think about it. ⇢ Respect their hesitation and offer to schedule a follow-up. ⇢ Ask: “What specific questions are still on your mind?” 5.) Send me an email. ⇢ Agree but provide context to ensure relevance. ⇢ Ask: “Would these outcomes align with what you’re focused on now?” 6.) I’m not interested. ⇢ Subtly acknowledge their position while offering value. ⇢ Ask: “Would exploring this together make sense before deciding further?” 7.) Where did you have my number from? ⇢ Clarify politely and explain where you found their contact information. ⇢ Reassure them by tying your outreach to their goals. 8.) Your price is too high. ⇢ Acknowledge their concern and reframe the conversation to focus on value. ⇢ Ask: “Do you feel confident our solution would help you achieve your goals?” 9.) We’re happy with what we have. ⇢ Validate their satisfaction but share examples of clients who improved despite being content initially. ⇢ Ask: “Would you be open to exploring potential gains on your end?” 10.) Call me back in 4 months. ⇢ Agree and ask what’s expected to change in that timeframe. ⇢ Probe lightly to uncover urgency: “Would anything make it worth discussing sooner?” 11.) I’m not interested. ⇢ Acknowledge their decision and highlight how their role impacts outcomes. ⇢ Ask indirectly: “Would it make sense to explore other perspectives before deciding?” 12.) We tried something similar before, and it didn’t work. ⇢ Avoid sounding defensive and reframe the conversation by emphasizing how you’re different. ⇢ Transition back to the pitch confidently: “Let’s dive in, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Preparation is the key to handling objections confidently. Save this guide, adapt these responses to fit your style, and turn challenges into opportunities. Want a high-res version of this cheat sheet? 👉 Sign up for salesdaily.co

Stop guessing your growth path. Map it instead with the Lean Canvas model. Last year a client was losing cash after a bad investment. Their Board wanted a clear plan, but management's ideas were scattered. Pressure rose as their cash runway shrank. I used a blank Lean Canvas and met with management. Box by box, we turned fuzzy thoughts into clear statements. In a few hours, the team could see the whole business on one page. A week later, decisions sped up, waste was cut, and revenue began increasing. The Board praised the new focus because just one sheet had replaced weeks of endless slides. 1. Start with the Problem box because pain fuels purchase: ⇀ List the top three headaches your market hates. ⇀ Ask customers for blunt complaints. ⇀ Rank pains by urgency and frequency.  ⇀ If the pain is weak, the plan is weak. 2. Name the Customer Segments who wake up with that pain: ⇀ Avoid lumping everyone together - be precise. ⇀ Describe one real person, not a demographic blur. ⇀ Note where they already search for help. ⇀ Specific faces drive focused solutions. 3. Your Unique Value Proposition attracts attention: ⇀ Write it like a headline your customer would repeat. ⇀ Highlight the biggest outcome, not features. ⇀ Short, clear value wins the click. ⇀ Keep it under ten words. 4. Now sketch your Solution: ⇀ Draft three bare-bones features solving each top pain. ⇀ Mockup screens or sketches quickly. ⇀ Show them to five prospects tomorrow. ⇀ Speed beats perfection in early design. 5. Channels tell you how messages travel to wallets: ⇀ Pick the two cheapest tests before buying ads. ⇀ Leverage existing communities and email lists. ⇀ Measure response time and cost per lead. ⇀ Cheap learning outruns expensive guessing. 6. Revenue Streams prove the idea can feed itself: ⇀ State exactly who pays, how much, and how often. ⇀ Compare price to the pain’s current cost. ⇀ Pilot a single pricing tier first. ⇀ Real cash beats hypothetical guesses. 7. Analyse Cost Structure for sustainability: ⇀ List the three largest costs and make them variable. ⇀ Negotiate monthly, not annual, contracts. ⇀ Lean costs preserve runway for learning. ⇀ Automate before hiring. 8. Key Metrics keep founders honest on progress: ⇀ Choose one north-star metric and two support numbers. ⇀ Link each metric to habit or revenue. ⇀ Track weekly in one simple dashboard. ⇀ What gets graphed gets fixed faster. 9. Finally, name your Unfair Advantage: ⇀ This is the asset rivals can’t match. ⇀ Lean on unique data, patents, or proven community. ⇀ Document founder expertise that speed cannot buy. ⇀ Without moats, margins leak. 10. Don't forget to summarise your high-level concept and identify early adopters too. Review our lean canvas model weekly to stay on track with your strategy. What's your favourite strategic model? ------- ♻️ Repost to help others in your network. Follow Jonathan Maharaj FCPA for more insights on accounting, finance and leadership.

At Amazon, we would often spend months working on a single paragraph of the PR/FAQ for a new product idea. This was the "problem paragraph". Done well, it could lead to a successful product. Done wrong, it will lead to failure. Here is how to write a successful problem paragraph: The “problem paragraph” defines the customer problem you’re solving. Without this, you will build a product that doesn’t address a customer pain point. It shows whether you truly understand your customer's needs, not just your company’s capabilities. To write this paragraph, start by precisely identifying the customer segment that will be served by your product. Great products are built for specific people with specific needs. For instance, designing a car for single urban professionals under 35 differs significantly from designing for suburban families with three kids and a dog. If you think your product is for everyone, you’re mistaken. A strong way to begin your paragraph is: “Today, [customer segment] has [problem], which they currently solve using [methods A, B, and C]…” Next, quantify the problem: → How large is the segment? (e.g., 17 million households) → What methods do they use? (e.g., 45% use A, 25% use B, 30% use C) → What are the tradeoffs? (e.g., speed, cost, quality) Here’s an example for a hypothetical robot vacuum product: “Today, 15 million busy urban and suburban professionals earning between $100,000 and $200,000 struggle to find the time and energy to keep their homes clean. Approximately 30% of these households use traditional vacuuming, which requires up to 2 hours per week. 55% hire a cleaner at a minimum of $50/week, and 15% use robot vacuums that cost $600 plus $100/year in maintenance, while leaving behind up to 30% of dust and dirt.” This problem paragraph quantifies the customer problem in terms of money, time, and other metrics where possible (in this case, the dust and dirt left behind). The problem should always be quantified; otherwise, how can you assess the potential value of a product that solves it? Well-defined customer problems are built on data-based insights. Insights are gleaned from swimming in data and metrics. This includes customer usage metrics, process or operations metrics, user interviews, demographic data, customer feedback, customer support data and anecdotes. The more data-based and specific your insight, the more accurate and helpful your problem paragraph will be. This is why the process can take months. However, distilling these quantified insights into a single paragraph gives you the best chance at building a truly useful product. At Amazon, this paragraph was always the most debated section in a PR/FAQ. This is because getting the problem wrong is the worst mistake you can make in building a product. Everywhere else, you can pivot. But if the problem is incorrectly diagnosed, nothing else matters. (cont. in comments)

Sales folks, take note! Spamming a target company's employees with your services and requests for meetings will result in your company making its way onto a buyer's blocklist. As a buyer in the localization industry, I receive dozens of emails and LinkedIn requests every single day from vendors looking to showcase translation, AI, QA services, and more. It's not humanly possible to give personal replies to every outreach. When vendors can't get through to me, they often reach out to everyone on my team... and sometimes to many others across my company. I'd love for this practice to stop. It wastes valuable company time and makes a vendor appear desperate and non-strategic. Here's what to do instead: 1. Appeal to ego! Invite a target company’s decision-maker to a panel, or start a vlog series and ask buyers to appear and discuss industry topics. It’s also a great opportunity to reposition your company as a thought leader. 2. Offer genuine insight, not just services. Share a case study, white paper, or benchmarking data that’s actually useful to the buyer’s role, and do it without a sales pitch. 3. Build a reputation before you build a pipeline. Comment thoughtfully on posts. Contribute to community conversations. If you consistently show up with value, you’re far more likely to get noticed. 4. Target smarter, not broader. Don’t shotgun your message to an entire company. Learn the org. Understand the buyer’s scope. Then send one well-researched, personalized note that shows you actually did your homework. 5. Focus on mutual value. Can you help solve a known pain point or offer perspective on something changing in the market? Frame your outreach around collaboration, not consumption. 6. Use timing to your advantage. Keep tabs on when companies are hiring for roles associated with your offerings, launching in new markets, or attending conferences. That’s when buyers are more receptive to new solutions. 7. Lead with generosity. Offer a no-strings-attached resource, intro, or suggestion that doesn’t benefit you directly. Reciprocity is a powerful trust builder. And please! Don't ever ever call me on the phone! ;)

Anyone who communicates ideas for a living should read Made to Stick at least once a year. I distilled the book from 304 pages to 7 principles that changed how I write, think, and sell new ideas: 1. Fight "The Curse of Knowledge" Once you know something, you can't imagine not knowing it. You subconsciously tune your frequency to "Expert," using jargon and skipping foundational steps. To win, write like you are explaining things to your smart but impatient grandmother. 2. Simple: Find the Core Proverbs survive for centuries because they pack maximum wisdom into minimum words. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" beats a 500-word essay on risk management. Southwest Airlines didn't have a 10-point strategic plan; they had one proverb: "THE low-cost airline." If a decision didn't help them be the low-cost airline (like serving chicken salad), they didn't do it. If you can't explain your value prop in one sentence after three beers, it is too complex. 3. Unexpected: Break the "Guessing Machine" Violate expectations. Instead of "excellent customer service," say "We don't answer emails on weekends because we want our staff to love their lives." Instead of a statistic about safety, show a safety video that gets interrupted. 4. Concrete: Use "Velcro" Never say "we offer high-performance solutions." Say "our battery saves you 47 minutes of charging time per day." The Heaths use the example of the "kidney heist" urban legend. We remember it because it has a bathtub, ice, and a note. It is visceral. Stop selling "solutions" and sell "bathtubs and ice." 5. Credible: The "Sinatra Test" You don't need a PhD to be credible; you just need to pass the "Sinatra Test": If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere. If you catered a dinner for the White House, you don't need to tell me your food is safe and delicious. The credential speaks for itself. Don't drown people in statistics. Give them one immense, verifiable proof point. "We power the security for the Pentagon" beats a 20-page whitepaper on encryption standards every time. 6. Emotional: The "Mother Teresa" Principle "If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will." Stop trying to get people to care about "the industry" or "the metrics." Make them care about one person. Don't say "We help companies reduce turnover." Say "We help the VP of HR stop dreading exit interviews." Lead with the feeling, then justify with the logic. 7. Stories: The Flight Simulator A great story is a flight simulator for the brain. When you tell a story about how a problem was solved, the listener mentally rehearses that success. So walk the prospect through the simulation: "Imagine it's Monday morning. You open your laptop. Instead of 50 unread tickets, you see zero. You pour your coffee..." You are letting them "practice" the solution before they’ve even bought it. TAKEAWAY Test your current messaging against these 7 rules. If it fails half of them, rewrite it.

One question turns failed PropTech pitches into closed deals. And most vendors never ask it. Here's the strategy alignment secret nobody's talking about. Last week, I watched another great product get rejected. Strong features. Clear value prop. But they pitched long-term efficiency to a merchant builder focused on exit value. Now they're wondering why the deal went nowhere. Here's how to align your pitch with their investment strategy: 1. Focus on strategy, not just asset type The secret isn't just knowing office from multifamily. It's understanding their investment timeline: Most vendors only see: • Office vs. retail • Multifamily vs. industrial • Class A vs. Class B Smart sellers also ask: • Hold period length • Exit strategy • Value creation timeline • Cash flow priorities Most fail because they stop at asset class. 2. Tailor your pitch to their timeline For long-term holders, focus on: • Operational efficiency • NOI improvement • Portfolio-wide impact • Solution stability • Compound ROI over time For short-term players, emphasize: • Repositioning acceleration • Lease-up support • Quick implementation • Flexible contract terms The timeline mismatch breaks more deals than price. 3. Ask the right questions first Start with: • "What's your typical hold period?" • "Are you looking to stabilize and hold or exit?" • "How do you handle property management?" • "What's your current solution stack?" Not: • "What types of properties do you own?" • "How many units do you have?" • "What systems are you using now?" • "When can we demo our product?" 4. Connect your value to their strategy Your pitch should show: • ROI within their ownership window • Value that matters to their strategy • Implementation that fits their timeline • Flexibility that matches their exit plans Never assume: • All owners want long-term savings • All GPs prioritize NOI • All buildings are forever holds • All operators think the same 5. Become a strategic partner Investment strategy changes everything: • It shapes their decision criteria • It determines their value metrics • It drives their timeline needs • It defines their success The difference between just another vendor and a strategic partner is understanding their investment strategy. Want to learn how the best PropTech companies align their pitches to investment strategies? Check out our free PropTech Pipeline Playbook email course in the comments.

Personalization isn't about sending more emails with someone's name in the subject line. It's about understanding the secret language of your buyer's motivations. What if the most effective personalization tactic was to speak to the buyer's biggest fear, rather than their biggest desire? 🤔 Reflect on this: 1️⃣ What are the unspoken concerns that keep your buyers up at night? 2️⃣ How can you use personalization to address these concerns, rather than just trying to appeal to their aspirations? 💡 Tips for marketers: 👉 Use data to uncover hidden patterns: Analyze buyer interactions, preferences, and behaviors to identify subtle patterns, revealing their motivations, pain points, and interests, enabling targeted and personalized communication. 👉 Craft messages that speak to pain points: Tailor messages to address specific fears, concerns, and needs of each individual, demonstrating empathy and understanding, and fostering trust and connection. 👉 Measure success by conversation depth : Evaluate effectiveness by the quality and depth of conversations sparked, rather than just surface-level metrics like open rates, to gauge true engagement and relationship-building. The goal of personalization isn't to manipulate, but to connect. To show up in the buyer's world with empathy and insight. To speak their secret language. What's that one thing you could change in your personalisation strategy today to start speaking your buyer's secret language? #b2bmarketing #saas #abm #contentmarketingstrategy #thoughtleadership #thethoughtleaderway

This is for everyone. Entrepreneurs, professionals, business owners, job seekers. You send emails nobody replies to. You make presentations people forget the moment they leave the room. You pitch ideas that don't land. It's not because your work is bad. It's because your message isn't clear. I just finished Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller and honestly, it changed how I think about communication. His one line that stayed with me: "If you confuse, you lose." Most of us make the same mistake - we make ourselves the hero. We talk about our experience, our process, our features. But the person on the other side of your email, your pitch, your slide deck? They don't care about you. They care about themselves. Their problem. Their outcome. That's exactly what the SB7 Framework fixes. 7 steps. Works in emails, presentations, proposals, pitches - anywhere you need to communicate. 1. Character: Who is your audience? What do they want? 2. Problem : What's frustrating them? Go deeper than the obvious - the internal problem always matters more. 3. Guide : Position yourself as the guide. Lead with empathy, back it with credibility. 4. Plan : Give them a clear path forward. 3 steps. No jargon. No confusion. 5. Call to Action: Be direct. Tell them exactly what to do next. 6. Avoid Failure → What happens if they don't act? Make the stakes real, not dramatic. 7. Success: Show them what life looks like after. Specific. Tangible. Worth wanting. Use this the next time you write an important email. Or build a client proposal. Or present to your leadership team. ----x------- This post itself follows the SB7 framework. You were the hero. Struggling to get people to listen, act, respond. The framework was the plan. I was just the guide. The CTA - Use it in your next communication. The failure - Keep sending unclear messages and keep getting ignored. The success - Emails that get replies. Presentations that get remembered. Pitches that convert. That's what clarity does.

Whether you’re promoting yourself in an interview, pitching a product, or asking for a raise, here’s how to persuade the person without being manipulative: At our Science of People lab, I’ve found that the most persuasive communicators master what I call the Two C’s: 1. Clarity Confusion kills persuasion. People can’t say yes to what they don’t understand. So before anything else, get crystal clear about what you do, who you help, and why it matters. 2. Curiosity Humans are drawn to questions, not monologues. If you can make someone genuinely curious, you’ve already earned their attention. Now let’s put those into practice. Step 1: Forget the elevator pitch Instead, think in terms of value propositions, statements that clearly show what you do and spark curiosity about how you do it. For example: “Meeting planners and association executives hire me to make them look like superstars.” That’s from Don Levine Jr. Every time he says it, people respond with: “Really? How do you do that?” And that “how” is the golden question, the one that opens real conversations instead of shutting them down. Step 2: Invite dialogue Your goal isn’t to “pitch.” It’s to start a discussion. When you state your value clearly, people naturally ask follow-up questions, and that’s when your expertise shines. Compare these two: • “I’m an engineer for a software company. We specialize in cybersecurity” • “I’m an engineer trying to solve the three biggest challenges in cybersecurity today” The second version invites curiosity and sets you up as an authority. Step 3: Be ready for “how” and “why” A great value proposition always leads to deeper questions: “How do you do that?” or “Why do you do that?” That’s your chance to explain your mission. Those “how” and “why” conversations create trust and credibility faster than any sales script ever could. Step 4: Add the third C (Courage) Yes, I’m sneaking in one more C. Because clarity and curiosity alone aren’t enough. You also need courage. • Courage to sound different • Courage to be memorable It takes confidence to say something like: • “I’m a human behavior hacker” • Or Jim McConnell’s favorite: “I keep my clients off the front page, keep executives alive and out of jail, and make suppliers accountable” • Or even a wedding planner who says: “Brides hire me so they can sleep better at night.” Each of those lines makes people lean in. Step 5: Create your own Here’s a simple fill-in-the-blank template to build your value proposition: I help [target audience] in [category] by [benefit/outcome] so they can [result]. Examples: • “For store owners in retail, our micro camera system provides fail-safe, worry-free security 24/7” • “I help startup entrepreneurs in tech hire the right people so they can focus on growth.” Now, I’m curious: what’s your value proposition? Fill in the blanks and share it below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

I've helped 20+ VC-backed startups drive profitable growth. One core element of that is messaging uplifts. If you're a B2B startup, here’s how to nail yours: But first, let’s unpack why startups do such a bad job with their messaging especially on websites. They try to cram everything onto it, thinking it's their most important page. But here's the reality: 🦗 Your homepage gets little traffic initially 🎯 Most visitors land on campaign landing pages instead 🕵️ Those who do visit your homepage are often referrals The solution: Reframe your homepage as a referral and navigation tool. Think of it as a one-page pitch with clear pathways to other crucial information. Here's how to structure it: 1. ABOVE THE FOLD ↳ Value prop headline - benefit led statement (under 10 words) Example: "Pay the world." ↳ 25-word max product description - what the product allows you to do  Example: "Your business and customers can send payments to—and accept payments in—every corner of the world. Instantly." ↳ CTA to "Why us" page TIP: This section gets the most attention. Make it count! 2. JUST UNDER THE FOLD ↳ Social proof (customer logos, ratings, press coverage) ↳ CTA to case studies WHY: Build trust quickly with recognizable names and success stories. 3. FURTHER DOWN ↳ 3 lead benefits (not features!) ↳ Key product distinctive capabilities  ↳ CTA to product page REMEMBER: Benefits solve problems. Features are just tools. 4. WRAP UP ↳ Final CTA (e.g., book a demo) PRO TIP: Make this CTA stand out. It's your last chance to convert! This blueprint helps your homepage quickly answer: ↳ What do you do? ↳ Who do you serve? ↳ Why should they care? Key components to include: 🎯 Clear value proposition 🤝 Social proof  💡 Benefits and capabilities  🧭 Intuitive navigation If you follow the above plan, you should get a vastly superior UI/UX and double-digit growth in conversions. What's your biggest homepage challenge? AMA in the comments 👇