Gauging Your Value

Unlocking your business' value is dependent on your having a good understanding of your marketplace and how you fit into that marketplace.  In this video, I describe the elements that make up a marketplace.

One of the things that entrepreneurs and business owners do that most other people don't do is actively scan their marketplace to identify opportunities, threats, and changes that will impact their business decisions.  In this video, I discuss how you can leverage industry groups as a source for market intelligence.

Continuing with the market scanning theme, this video takes a look at how you can focus your online research to analyze your marketplace and continually provide yourself with market insights.

An extremely valuable source of market intelligence is your network of colleagues.  Some may be fellow business consultants, and some may even be competitors.  All the better.  Smart entrepreneurs regularly meet with colleagues to discuss what is happening in their industry and pick each other's brains for insights.

An often overlooked source of market intelligence is your client base.  Our client conversations are often so centered around specific project needs that we fail to have broader conversations about what is happening within their business and within their marketplace.

You sometimes hear the term "informational interview" as it relates to job-seeking, but for a business owner, it means something a little different.  It involves actively seeking out individuals and asking them questions about what challenges they're facing, what new developments they're seeing, etc.  You aren't trying to get a job...you're an entrepreneur trying to understand where the market is heading, and the more people you talk to, the better able you are to gauge the direction of your marketplace.

In this interview excerpt with Mike Noble, an executive who handles pricing at a large US business consultancy, you hear another perspective on gathering market intelligence.

Here are some tips for how to assess your market intelligence, so you can use it to make business decisions.

Here are some tips for assessing the implications and potential impact of market intelligence on your business, especially pricing.

In this interview excerpt with Gary Stewart, a business consultant and former consulting firm senior executive, you get some valuable advice from someone who has been in the trenches.

Before you proceed, it might be helpful for you to apply what we've discussed so far.  Go out and gather some market intelligence to get a sense of where your marketplace is today and where it may be heading over the coming year.  While you're at it, start to establish some routines for gathering intelligence on an ongoing basis, such as blocking out time for networking and informational interviews, subscribing to news feeds and blogs that provide a continuous drip of market insight, etc.

What is your value proposition?  Most of us don't know.  We think our value lies in the services we provide and the capabilities we possess, but that's incorrect.  In this video, I introduce the concept of value and provide three tips to help you understand how your value is derived.

If value is in the eye of the beholder, then it's important for you to put yourself in your clients' shoes and assess your business from their perspective.  Only then can you really understand and unlock your value.

Now let's look at the mechanics of creating a value proposition.  We start with your capabilities and an understanding of the marketplace, then identify what value those capabilities can bring to your clients...in terms of growth, productivity, peace of mind, etc.

Once you've identified the value that your clients derive from your capabilities, identify 1-3 value drivers that describe what is unique and special about the WAY you deliver your services that enables and maximizes your value.  If you can't think of anything that you currently do that is special, consider what you COULD do to drive value for the client. 

For example, if Game of Thrones delivers entertainment value to TV viewers, how specifically does it do that?  Suspense, drama, complex plotlines, deep and interesting characters, willingness to kill off key characters (a la "Red Wedding"), grand scale, authenticity, great scriptwriting, great acting, what?  As with GoT, you may have a long list, but try to narrow that list down to the 3 biggest and most compelling value drivers. 

In this interview excerpt, Jeff Dorman, a very successful business consultant, shares his perspective on what you can do to drive value.

In this interview excerpt, Belen Bilgic-Schneider, a successful business co-owner of an e-commerce company and a freelance graphic designer in her own right, shares her perspectives on value.

Now it's time to apply what you've learned.  Go ahead and write your value proposition. 

In this video, I recap the key bits from the course.  I also encourage you to use your value proposition not only to guide your pricing efforts but also to anchor your consulting practice.  If it's a compelling description of how your capabilities add value for clients, then use your value prop as a center point for your entire consulting practice. 

With some practice, you should be able to incorporate your value proposition into your 30-second elevator speech, which you'll deliver for networking contacts, family, friends, and prospective clients.  Allow your value proposition to define what you and your consulting practice are all about, and you will find your unique voice.

In this Bonus Lecture video, I describe the entire Pricing Your Services curriculum and next steps.  Be sure to check out the resources for coupons and links to other Pricing Your Services courses on Udemy.