A 'proposition' combines everything that makes your company what it is. This might be the products and or services you provide, the experience and expertise you have, as well as the solutions you can deliver to solve your clients' problems.

The proposition is not your mission or vision statement but instead it is the clear explanation to your customers of what you do. Everyone in your business should fully understand the proposition and you need to make sure that employees uphold the proposition in everything that they do.

If you don't have one, then the first step is to ask yourself: what problem am I solving for my customers?

Not all customers want the cheapest product or service, sometimes they want other things too, and so you need to know exactly what you are offering to your customers. Have a look at some of these options to help you decide what you might include in your proposition:

• Perhaps your products are the very best, premium product or a good enough product?
• It may be either guaranteed next day delivery or arriving sometime next week?
• Definitely delivered undamaged and in good working order?
• What level of after sales service are you offering, if any?
• Are there monthly maintenance contracts available or repairs as required?
• Do you guarantee to hold spares in stock or is there an order process?
• What expertise, advice and assistance do you provide; free of charge or fee charged?

For many businesses a proposition is really tricky to define, but without it you're sure to miss your sales targets. So, you need to engage as many of your team as possible to help you develop the proposition. Review your competitors' propositions and ask yourself how you differ - what is your unique selling point (USP)?

Once you begin to think about this, you might find that you need multiple propositions, especially if you have different ranges, services, or packages for different target markets. It's important that you are clear about all of your propositions as this will help you to reach your business objectives.