Return on Investment (ROI) Proposition

If you are going to ask your customers to invest you better be prepared to discuss RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI). No financial planner discusses investment with a client without discussing what the client might expect to receive, or ROI.

The ROI proposition is a perception of value—but more than value, it’s getting more value than the investment made (time, money, effort). The ROI proposition is the key to getting large numbers in your audience to invest large amounts of money in their education and success through your materials.

People will read your $15 book for enjoyment or an idea or two, but they won’t spend $119 for your manual without an idea of what they might get in return. $119 is too high a price to pay for enjoyment or an idea or two.

So when I talk about a benefit from a particular idea, I try to phrase it with a specific outcome—ROI. So “how to take a business card at a networking function” moves to “three things to do when you take a business card at a networking function” to the ROI proposition—“three things to do when you take a business card at a networking function so you never, ever forget a name or a face.”

Let’s do one more-- “How to get good employees” moves to “7 secrets to getting good employees” to the ROI proposition “7 strategies for reducing employee recruitment costs by 20%.” Which would you invest $119 or a lot more—a few employee retention ideas or a way to cut $50,000 out of your HR budget?

You want your audience and prospects to want your materials because they can’t resist making an investment that returns so much more.