26Point Checklist

The framework · Customers & Growth

05 Value Proposition

8 sub-categories. The three numbers on each are the typical opportunity in that area across businesses — not your result.

Time4.5/10Financial7.9/10Automation5.4/10

These three numbers are researched cross-business benchmarks for the area — the typical opportunity available in it. They are not your score, not a forecast, and not a promise. What is actually critical depends on your business, which is what the audit is for.

5.1

Problem being solved

Time4/10Financial8/10Automation4/10
What this is
The specific problem your offer removes, stated as the customer would state it.
Why it matters
If the problem is not sharp, nothing downstream can be. Vague problem statements produce vague marketing, long sales cycles and price-based decisions.
You have a problem here if
Your homepage describes what you do before it describes what is wrong.
What to automate
Low automation potential — this is writing and judgement. The useful machine assist is consistency checking across every surface (site, proposals, ads, email) so one agreed problem statement is actually the one being used everywhere.
5.2

Core customer benefit

Time4/10Financial8/10Automation4/10
What this is
The single most important outcome the customer gets — the benefit, not the feature list.
Why it matters
Buyers do not add up features; they respond to one clear improvement in their situation. A diffuse benefit statement is the most common reason good offers convert badly.
You have a problem here if
You need three sentences to explain what the customer gets.
What to automate
Test rather than automate. Run structured message tests on ads and landing pages so the benefit that actually converts wins, instead of the one the business is most attached to.
5.3

Differentiation

Time4/10Financial8/10Automation4/10
What this is
What genuinely separates your offer from the alternatives a buyer is weighing.
Why it matters
Differentiation is what removes price as the deciding factor. Undifferentiated businesses are forced into discounting and then blame the market.
You have a problem here if
Your key claims — quality, service, experience — appear verbatim on competitors' sites.
What to automate
Automate the check, not the answer: scheduled scraping of competitor claims to find which of yours are actually unique. A machine can prove you are undifferentiated; only people can fix it.
5.4

Reason to choose the business

Time4/10Financial8/10Automation4/10
What this is
The plain answer to "why should I choose you?" that a buyer would accept.
Why it matters
This is the sentence that carries every deal. When it is missing, the sales process compensates with effort and discount, both expensive.
You have a problem here if
Different salespeople answer this question differently.
What to automate
Not automatable as content. What helps is capturing the reason won on every closed deal and surfacing the pattern — the real answer is usually already being given by your best salesperson and nobody has written it down.
5.5

Value versus alternatives

Time5/10Financial7/10Automation6/10
What this is
How your offer compares against the realistic alternatives, including doing nothing.
Why it matters
Buyers always compare. If you do not frame the comparison, the buyer or a competitor will, usually on price.
You have a problem here if
You have no comparison material and rely on the buyer to work it out.
What to automate
Maintain a comparison matrix that updates from monitored competitor pricing and feature pages, so the sales team is never arguing from stale information.
5.6

Value for price

Time4/10Financial10/10Automation6/10
What this is
Whether what the customer receives is worth what they pay, in their judgement rather than yours.
Why it matters
The highest financial-potential line in this category. Perceived value for price governs conversion, discounting pressure, churn and your ability to raise prices at all.
You have a problem here if
Price objections arrive early and often, and discounting closes them.
What to automate
Instrument the evidence: discount frequency and depth by segment, objection type by deal, and outcomes achieved for customers. A monthly automated report on where you are conceding price is usually uncomfortable and immediately actionable.
5.7

Proof/credibility

Time5/10Financial7/10Automation7/10
What this is
The evidence that your claims are true — results, references, credentials, guarantees.
Why it matters
Proof is what converts interest into purchase for a cautious buyer. Most small businesses have the proof and have never collected it.
You have a problem here if
You have delivered good outcomes you cannot show a prospect.
What to automate
Automate the collection: trigger a results-and-testimonial request at the point of delivery success, store it in one library, and surface the most relevant items into proposals automatically. The failure is almost always collection, not availability.
5.8

Clarity of communication

Time6/10Financial7/10Automation8/10
What this is
Whether the value proposition is expressed simply enough to be understood in seconds and repeated by others.
Why it matters
A proposition that cannot be repeated cannot spread. Clarity does more for referral and conversion than volume of content does.
You have a problem here if
Customers describe what you do inaccurately when recommending you.
What to automate
Good automation fit. Readability and consistency checks across all customer-facing copy, plus A/B testing of the headline proposition, both run continuously and cheaply.

Category totals

Time 36/80 · Financial 63/80 · Automation 43/80. The sum is the official roll-up; the averages above exist so categories of different sizes can be compared.