I’ve been thinking about the “why people buy” thing again.

You know the four value propositions:

The last one especially has been top of mind. Risk.

Because a lot of the time, people don’t want to admit that doing it themselves is riskier than having someone else do it.

So what looks like upside: more money, more efficiency, higher status….might really be: “I don’t want to mess this up,” or “I don’t know how to do this.”

Which feels like a different frame altogether.

Upside potential vs. downside protection.

So when you hear, “We want to grow,” know that doesn’t always mean value prop is making more money. Or, “We need to be more efficient,” doesn’t always mean saving time.

So here’s a simple way I’ve been thinking about it:

If you’re not just there to offload work or act as a pure outsource there is a good chance your value isn’t the upside. It’s likely because they can’t afford to get it wrong.

And that makes you in the business of risk reduction. Any everything else sits downstream of that.

Just something to consider in how you talk about what you do or the value you provide.

Side note (because I can’t help myself): People feel worse about losing $100, than gaining $100. So even when the math says upside psychology leans toward the downside.

Just saying…loss aversion is real.

Thank you for reading.

Be well. Talk soon.

— Peter

P.S. If this is making you second-guess how you’ve been talking about your value, you’re not alone. Reply and tell me what you’re seeing. Or, if you want a more structured look, see if you’re a fit for my pricing and value framing assessment.