- Whether you're sending out a cold email
or you're running an ad.
Maybe you are pitching a prospective VC,
or you're talking to a potential customer.
Maybe during Thanksgiving you're trying to explain
to grandma exactly what your company does.
In all of these scenarios
you're actually using this one thing,
and that one thing is a central component
of your go to market strategy.
It's your value proposition statement.
It's that one line that succinctly describes exactly
what you guys do that will get your target audience,
your target customers to actually be like
Oh my God, I need that.
Here's a big question though.
What makes for a great value proposition statement?
One of the things I've learned
in my journey in SaaS is that you know
you've nailed a value proposition when you get
to what I call the hey man version.
The hey man version is a wildly different value
proposition that just nails it
and everyone gets it and it just spreads like wildfire.
But not everyone knows how to get there.
So in this episode
I'm gonna walk you through the three principles
that you absolutely need to know on how to actually revamp
and transform your value proposition statement
from something that's boring, that no one wants to hear
and you don't even like saying it
to something that is inherently viral.
It's that hey man version.
And when you do this
you're gonna be able to accelerate every aspect
of your go-to-market strategy because you're using it
in every aspect of your go-to-market strategy.
And that will ensue to faster growth.
Intro.
(upbeat music)
What's up everybody?
Welcome to Unstoppable.
I'm TK, and on this channel I help SaaS founders
like you grow your SaaS business faster
with an unstoppable strategy.
Now, if you are new to this channel, welcome.
I drop an episode every single Sunday
with actionable tactics and strategies
on how to grow your SaaS business faster.
So be sure to hit that subscribe button and that bell icon
that way you'll get notified every single time
I drop an episode with the TK Energy.
Now, if you're already part of this growing community
we just hit 35,000 subscribers, my people, welcome back.
It's really, really awesome to have you over here.
So I remember when I was first building out ToutApp
ToutApp, we were pioneers
in the sales engagement space.
I was living in San Francisco, I lived in Cole Valley
and every morning I would take an Uber
to Soma where our offices were.
And at the end of the day, I would then
call another Uber and take it back to Cole Valley.
And the reason I did this is
because I moved from New York City.
I didn't have a car.
San Francisco had no public transportation
between Cole Valley and Soma that was reliable.
And so I did the math and I'm like
It's actually cheaper to just take an Uber.
And so I did, and every morning
and every evening I would be in the car.
And this was the early days of Uber, right?
And so everyone was super friendly.
The drivers were just different kinds
of drivers and they would just always ask like,
hey like what do you do?
And we would have that conversation.
And every single car ride I would have
to deliver my value proposition.
And I have to say in as succinct a way
as possible exactly what ToutApp did.
And so I took it as a challenge every single day
in the morning and in the evening
I would tweak it a little bit better and better.
I would make it a little bit more succinct.
And over time I got to a point
where that value proposition was just dialed in
because I was meeting people that weren't just Uber drivers.
Some of them were in sales before,
we were sales engagement platform.
Some of them were in marketing before.
Some of them understood what that sales and marketing was.
Everyone got it.
And so I had this test bed every single day
of live conversations for 20-22 minutes where
I could just test new things and see what resonates
and then go use it in everything else that we were doing.
This was super invaluable to me
because like much like anything else that you keep iterating
on and keep working at and keep getting better at
you'll get 10x better at it.
And I was able to get to a value proposition
over time that just completely converted
at a much higher pace than anything else.
So in this episode, I'm gonna walk you
through the three principles I learned
in working on value propositions, not just at ToutApp
but with all the SaaS founders that I coach now.
And I'm gonna walk you through
exactly how to get to your hey man version.
And the hey man value proposition I found is
the one that you've nailed it where it's
at a level where people will actually understand it
and take action on it.
So be excited to dig in, go ahead and smash that like button
for the YouTube algorithm,
it really likes it when you do that,
and we'll jump into principle number one.
Principle number one is let's just talk
about the core elements of a great value proposition.
Every great value prop, like for example with ToutApp
it helps you close more deals.
That was one version of the value proposition.
Another version of the value proposition was it was
for sales people who need to generate more pipeline.
We gave you software to automate pipeline generation.
That was another version of our value proposition.
You may be playing around
with different versions of your value proposition
but every value proposition must have these three things.
The first is it has to have a who.
Who is this for?
In every value proposition, you have to be explicit
about exactly who your software is for.
Is it for sales people?
Is it for marketers?
Is it for CEOs, is it for founders?
You have to be very, very specific.
The second thing is you have to be very clear
about what the result your software delivers is.
It's not about the features you have.
A lot of times people get enamored in, well
you're able to sync this data and you're able to do this
and generate this proposal, like no one really cares.
What they really care about
at the value proposition level is what is
the ultimate result your software is going to deliver?
What is the transformation it's going to bring?
For ToutApp, it was pipeline, it generated more pipeline.
That's what people cared about.
And so getting crystal clear
on what the actual end result is
you have to bake that into your value proposition.
And the third piece you have to have
in every great value proposition is the vehicle.
This is common for us.
This channel is for B2B SaaS founders.
And so it's easy.
Our software, our B2B software,
our software as a service platform,
you can use any version of those.
Our app, our website, whatever you want to call it.
You wanna be explicit like, look
we have this software that helps you achieve
this result and it's for salespeople, right?
You want to get to that level of clarity.
And you don't wanna make it more complicated.
You don't want to add add words like revolutionary.
Every software's revolutionary.
And also people don't trust you when you say that.
Or AI driven, everyone is AI driven.
It's also a bunch of fake stuff in AI also.
So you almost lose credibility there.
So you wanna be as explicit as possible.
So now that we have the baseline
on exactly the three components you need to have
in every value proposition, let's talk
about the difference between your average value proposition
and what I learned in those Uber rides.
And in working on value propositions for so long,
the hey man version.
So this goes into principle number two.
Principle number two is there's your formal value
proposition, and then there is the hey man version.
So let's talk about the formal.
People tend to err towards
the formal value proposition, right?
Like when I see someone write
out their value proposition, you know
they cringe, I cringe, and anyone, anytime
they deliver the person that's getting it cringes, why?
Because it's overly complicated.
It's overly formal.
It's like our software as a service platform revolutionizes
for salespeople how they can automate their pipeline
generation activities and systems.
It's like, I already lost you at revolutionary.
It doesn't even matter what the result is.
I already lost you, you lost the credibility.
Those formal things, it's kind of like mission statements
and the board gets together and they're like
This is our mission statement
let's put it in like every single wall
and every single aspect of the company.
And you know, if you worked in a large company,
you look at it and you're like, no one,
like that's made up, right?
Like you just turn off.
That is your formal value proposition.
And it's okay, like baby TK made this mistake as well.
And so often that's where you kind of start
from and that's okay because from that
you can iterate to the hey man version.
So in ToutApp, you know, the thing that like
if I was like going back to my first Uber ride
it was like, oh yeah, like we make software
that helps salespeople increase productivity
and reduce the number of clicks it takes
to send emails using templates and analytics
and it helps them actually be more effective salespeople.
Like that was my value proposition,
that's a formal one that I started with.
And you know, I felt good about it, and you can too
because you're like, oh, it like increases productivity
and I mentioned the key features that really
differentiate us, and I identified salespeople.
This is why value proposition work,
it's art rather than science because it requires
it's a lot of nuanced to work that you have to do.
And it's okay to start with that formal version
but you learn very quickly
the more complicated it is, the fancier words you're using,
the more formal it is
the more people turn off their brains.
And the bar that I set
is your value proposition has to be deliverable
by a half drunk SDR at a very loud happy hour
at a conference where your ICP is hanging out.
That's literally the bar.
Because if they can actually communicate it
in a friendly way in that kind of state
then you know you've gotten to the hey man version.
What's the hey man version of that, right?
Eventually we got to the hey man version.
The hey man version is like, hey
you know how salespeople have to follow up
with the lead eight times just to get a meeting
or to get an opportunity going?
Well, our software automates all of that, and that was it.
That was our hey man version.
And you see how I communicated the same thing
but I communicated in a much more human way.
And so if I was in a noisy happy hour
and I'm talking to a VP of sales, I can easily be like, hey
you know how like it takes eight touches to convert a lead
to a real opportunity?
Or if you're doing cold outbound, it takes
like 12 touches and you gotta do phone call and email.
They're like, yeah.
it's like yeah, our software
automates all that for salespeople
to make sure they do all those steps.
And of course, every single time we delivered that
the VP was like, oh my God, please take all my money.
That's the power of the hey man version.
The hey man version is like, hey man, you know, like how?
Yeah, and that is where you actually build trust
and they trust you
when they're like, yeah, I do have that.
Oh my, yes, I need that.
That's when you know you've nailed it.
When you've gotten rid of all the fluff.
It's not formal.
It's really like, hey man, you know how?
And then like the who it's for,
what the result that they're trying to achieve is
and what the vehicle is, right?
Like that's kind of how you want to get to.
And I'm not saying that's what you put in every cold email
or ad, you can, they perform well, we've tested this
but you can get to that zip code of simplicity and clarity.
And when you do that
then you can start to deploy your value proposition
into your ads, into your social posts
into your landing page, everywhere.
Even normal conversations with your grandma
and like what you guys do.
And everyone will get it that much faster.
Now, before I go to principle number three
that brings it all together
let me pause here for a second.
Are you starting to see the power in this?
Are you starting to see the power
in how important value proposition is?
How you can easily glaze
over it and just focus on activities
and sort of working on the strategic thing and
also how the hey man version can 10x everything you're doing
in terms of growing your company.
If you're starting to see the power in this
can I just get a yes in the comments below
and also smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm?
It really likes it when you do that.
Also if you're in this stage where you're looking to
grow your SaaS business and you're trying to figure out
how do I figure out my go-to-market strategy?
How do I define my value proposition?
How do I deploy that?
What channels do I use?
This is exactly why I run my SaaS go-to-market
coaching program.
The links will be below for all the details.
I'll tell you more about it at the end of this episode
but you don't have to go anywhere right now.
Let's go to principle number three
but also smash that like button
for the YouTube algorithm if you haven't already.
because it really likes it when you do that
and so does my team.
We put a lot of love into these videos.
Okay, Number three is
once you have your hey man version, you'll know
and the way you'll know is a few things
will start to happen.
First, trust is going to go up
meaning you know how like you're delivering your value prop
and their eyes gloss over and you can tell
and that makes it even more cringey for everyone involved.
They're like, and then they're like, oh cool,
good for you, just let us know how we can be helpful.
Right, like, you know, you've failed.
Well, when you have the hey man version
then you'll start to see much more engagement
you'll see trust go up first.
They'll listen longer.
As soon as you have a word in there that reduces trust
people will listen less, they'll kind of glaze over.
But when you are getting to the hey man version
you'll see trust go up.
What you'll also see is
that hey man version value props are inherently
more viral and actionable.
This means that that person you just told it to
they're more likely to be able to say it
to another person because it's so simple
and they can repeat it.
Like it's so easy to turn around.
it's like, hey, you should talk to these guys.
You know how like it takes eight touches to convert a lead
to an opportunity?
Well, they automate it, it's easy to go viral.
You'll know that you're starting to nail it.
You'll also see that they'll take more action.
They won't just say, oh, that's cool.
They'll be like, oh, I think that's interesting
tell me more about that.
You'll start to get a different response.
And that's principle number three.
You'll wanna watch for that.
It's very likely you're not gonna get
to your first version of your hey man value prop right away.
You'll have to start with the formal.
You'll have to work through it.
It takes iterations.
This is simple, but it's also hard, it does take the reps.
And so you'll wanna make sure you keep
an eye out for these things.
Is trust going up?
Are people able to repeat it very quickly?
Are they asking for more right after hearing it?
And that's how you know
that you're not only starting to nail the core pieces
you're actually getting to your hey man version.
And I got, I was lucky I got this
in my Uber rides in the morning,
and the evening, morning, evening, morning, evening
five days a week.
And what that helped me do was keep iterating.
And you can create some version of that
or you can work with someone that helps you cut through it.
So to recap, for your value proposition
it's such a central part
of everything you do to drive growth for your SaaS business.
Principle number one is have the core components.
Who is it for?
What's the result and what's the vehicle?
Number two is, you can start with the formal version
that's okay, but you need to get to your hey man version.
And the hey man version is the one that actually
increases trust, is inherently viral
and way more actionable.
And that's what you want to get to.
And if you follow these three pieces
you'll start to understand what a hey man version
of your value proposition looks like
how you can start to iterate on it.
And how important this is really
because everything you're doing
like your value proposition sits in your home page
It's in your ads, it's in your outbound emails
it's in your cold calls, it's in every VC interaction
every prospective customer interaction.
People are referring you that way.
That's how important this value proposition piece work is.
And that's why I want people to be thinking about it.
Now you know exactly what a hey man version is.
Well, what you may not know is how do you actually
get to your hey man version?
How do you actually do a proper go-to market strategy
including your value proposition
and all the other pieces that go along with it
so you can effectively drive growth for your SaaS business?
This is why I created my SaaS go-to-market coaching program.
Inside of this program, we focus
on three things and we work together.
Number one, we flesh out your ideal customer profile.
This helps us craft a better value proposition
believe it or not.
Number two, we then flesh out your manifesto.
Your manifesto essentially emboldens your value proposition
your strategic narrative, your positioning
your messaging into one core asset.
And it's a very powerful piece
of the program that I work with you on.
Once you have your ICP and your manifesto
you essentially have your go to market strategy
then we help you run a Broadway show.
And your Broadway show essentially helps you
bring your manifesto to your ICP on a consistent, scalable
and effective way so that you
can generate pipeline, drive users or sales calls
depending on whether you're product led or sales led
and then accelerate the growth
and accelerate your path to the next stage of growth.
That's exactly what we do inside of the program.
It's an incredible program.
Over the last three weeks
I've finished doing a bunch of case studies
and success stories with founders that we'll be introducing
in this channel over the next few weeks.
They were incredible and companies grew anywhere
from two X upwards of five X
as they went through the program in terms of revenues
which is what matters the most.
So if you wanna work together,
you wanna revamp your go to market strategy
you wanna get your hey man value proposition
and you wanna deploy it
through a Broadway show and a manifesto
then I encourage you to check out the program.
Just go to TKKader.com/GTM,
TKKader.com/GTM.
Over there, you get all the details around the program
and then we wanna make sure
that you're the right fit and we can actually help you.
So you'll fill a little application form
we'll get on a call.
We'll check out where you are in the business
what you're struggling with, and if it sounds
like we can help, we'll be able to get you onboarded
and help you accelerate the growth of your SaaS business
with an unstoppable go to market strategy.
So just go TKKader.com/GTM.
The links are all below.
Also, if you got values from this video
please smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
It really loves it when you do that.
And I drop an episode every single Sunday
with actionable strategies and tactics on actually
how to grow your SaaS business exactly like this.
So be sure to hit the subscribe button and that bell icon
that way you'll get notified every single time
I drop an episode.
Lastly, if you have a fellow founder,
if you have a fellow team member,
if you're part of a Slack group
or a WhatsApp group or a community of other SaaS founders
and you feel like they would get value from this video
please share this video with them.
Just mean the world to us.
And lastly, remember, everyone needs a strategy
for their life and their business.
When you are with us, yours is gonna be unstoppable.
I'm TK, and I'll see you in the next episode.
Alrighty, let's do this.