What’s In A Value Proposition?

There is a neighborhood near mine of lovely historic Craftsman homes—except for one sad exception.

The lemon trees haven’t been picked and the fruit lies rotting on the ground. There are a ton of sketchy-looking, critter-made holes all over the grass (snakes?). And the house itself hasn’t been properly tended to—droopy roof, peeling paint, dirty windows.

So I was thrilled for the owners (and the ‘hood) when I spied three guys working on the lawn, cleaning it up.

But then I saw their truck. The size of a moving truck—bigger than a van, but short of a semi—it had one of the local realtor’s names plastered all over the side of it. Sure enough, the workers (yes, their shirts had his branding on it too) had been hired by the realtor.

Think about that for just a moment.

A realtor—who typically gets paid only when he closes a sale—has bought his own giant truck and hired his own workers to clean up a sad, but presumably high value property.

Not your typical realtor, right?

One stop shopping and maximum value for your home.

That’s a value proposition perfect for the elderly or infirm, an estate sale being managed from a distance or even sellers who just can’t be bothered with the details of sprucing up their home for sale.

And yet, this realtor’s business isn’t so different from yours and mine. He’s selling a combination of wisdom (how to price/market property) and execution (showing potential buyers the home and closing all aspects of the deal).

And just like him, you may be able to expand your business in ways your competitors can’t touch.

I imagine this realtor—let’s call him Alvin—experienced a set of potential sellers who couldn’t get their act together to hire him. They’d take weeks or months trying to get their home ready for sale, perhaps even giving up at the enormity of the task.

Instead of walking away in frustration, he saw an opportunity.

I’d also guess Alvin didn’t run right out and buy his own $30,000 truck and hire a slew of employees. I bet at first he hired an existing company, with their own employees and their own vehicles, on a project-by-project basis.

And as he learned what worked best—and which things he wanted to control himself—he gradually took over more parts of the “engagement”.

And now, Alvin may be the only game in town—or at least the easiest, safest bet—for a niche of challenged homeowners wanting to cash in on a robust real estate market.

What about you—when you look at your consulting business, are clients asking you for something that you aren’t currently delivering?

What problems keep them from hiring you or getting full value from your expertise?

Are there points on that continuum that you could fix and want to own in exchange for a fee? (Hint: this may well be another opportunity for value pricing.)

Not everybody wants to clean up rodent holes or patch leaky roofs.

But if it fits your talents, passions and your vision for your business, it just might make you the perfect choice for your ideal client.

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