Value Statement Builder
The Value Statement Builder articulates the value a partnership creates for the partner, expressed through the five LASER levers, rather than restating the value you create for customers.
Published · Updated
Design phase, module 3 of 9
Why this matters
Most partnership conversations open with what the business does for its customers. It is the pitch closest to hand, because it is the one already written.
A prospective partner does not need it. They already believe you are good at what you do, or they would not be in the conversation. What they do not know is what the partnership does for them.
This is the most common single point of failure in partner recruitment, and it is entirely a language problem. The businesses were compatible. The pitch was aimed at the wrong beneficiary.
Before. "Here is what we do and why we are good at it."
After. "Here is what this partnership does for your business, specifically."
The core framework: LASER
LASER
LASER covers the five business priorities a partnership can serve.
A value statement built on LASER identifies which of the five the partnership actually serves, and states it in the partner's terms.
Most partnerships serve one or two well. Claiming all five is a reliable signal that none has been thought through, and experienced partners read it that way.
Leads. New qualified opportunities entering the partner's pipeline.
Acceleration. Existing opportunities moving through their cycle faster.
Sales conversion. A higher proportion of their opportunities closing.
Expansion. More value from customers the partner already has.
Retain and re-engage. Customers who stay longer, and lapsed customers who come back.
Key principles
The partner is the beneficiary. Every sentence of the value statement should survive the question "so what does that do for me [the partner]?"
One or two levers, chosen deliberately. Depth beats coverage.
Written once, used many times. The value statement carries through alignment conversations, proposals, partner enablement and onboarding. It is not a one-off pitch.
Specific to the partner type. The value proposition for a growth partner is not the value proposition for a reseller, and reusing one for the other is transparent.
Common questions
What is the difference between a value proposition and a value statement?
A value proposition is usually customer facing and describes why someone should buy. A value statement in this context is partner facing and describes why a business should collaborate with you. Different audience, different beneficiary, different language.
What if the partnership genuinely benefits me more than them?
Then say so and construct the exchange accordingly, whether that is a fee, reciprocity or something else of value. Uneven partnerships can work. Uneven partnerships presented as even do not, because the partner works it out.
Which LASER lever should I lead with?
Whichever the partner's business currently needs most, which is a question rather than an assumption. A partner with plenty of leads and poor retention does not want to hear about lead generation.
Do I need a different value statement for every partner?
The framework stays the same, the emphasis changes. Which lever leads depends on the individual partner's situation, which is what the alignment conversation is for.
Using Refer2u
The hard part of a partnership is not writing the value statement. It is still having it, in the right words, at the moment the conversation actually happens.
Refer2u keeps it with the relationship. Store each partner's primary and secondary value levers against their profile, and the reason the partnership exists travels with it: into the next conversation, into a proposal six months later, into a colleague's hands when they pick it up.
Written once. Available every time it matters.
Learn the framework on the Referral Marketing Formula hub. Put it to work in Refer2u.