A couple of years back I came up with an idea for changing your frustrations as a business owner, into freedoms. I call it the 5 P framework. One of those P’s stands for promise. Your promise is an element of your business that you need to nail.

If you think about it, every single aspect of your business is centered around that one core promise.

So no matter your niche or industry, it’s imperative to invest some time into crafting a promise you’re proud of. So how exactly is this done? Let’s start with some key questions every business owner should know the answer to.

What Is A Promise?
What value can your brand bring a client?

What pain point can you solve for them?

Why should they work with you?

This is what your promise should encapsulate.

Take a moment to think about your favorite brands, the ones that really inspire you and hold authority. There’s a good chance they’ve got a winning promise.

For instance, Patagonia promises durable outdoor wear that also promotes sustainability. Blue Apron promises affordable meals you can cook at home with healthy ingredients.

Starting to see the appeal of a strong promise? It sticks in the minds of consumers.

Now, let’s learn how to make one for your unique business.

Everybody Buys a Better Life
This simple truth underscores the entire world of sales. So whether you already have an established business, or you’re in the very beginning stages of developing a new product or service, your first priority should be figuring out:

How does buying this improve people’s lives?

Whether it’s a juicy steak, a fancy mansion, a heated pool, or really anything, people make purchases for a reason. We’re always thinking about how the things we put our money toward will make us look better, feel better, get things done faster, and the like.

What is your promise telling your client? If it’s strong, it will tell them how you can take them from where they currently are, to where they want to be. That’s why step one to crafting the perfect promise is understanding the problem your clients want you to solve for them.

What Sets You Apart
Once you’ve researched the problems your clients are having and figured out how to promise them the solution, you need to show them why they should choose your brand. For any one problem, there are infinite solutions, after all.

What makes you different, and better, than any of your competitors?

Your promise should paint a crystal clear picture in the heads of consumers. They should be able to envision the journey of you walking them through the steps to get where they want to be.

Look into your competitors. If they’ve chosen to go a specific route with their promise, devise a way that your brand can fulfill a gap in the market.

Or, if you are doing the same thing as many of your competitors, ask yourself how you can communicate the ways that your brand does it better.

Delivering on Your Promise
It’s key to get the language right and really communicate a positive feeling with your promise. Then, if you can effectively execute what you’ve promised your clients, you’ll gain their trust and become their go-to brand.

I’ll use an example from my own shoe store business. Our promise is “Look Great, Feel Fantastic”. This phrase is simple but effective: it promises two things at once.

Because I know that many consumers feel they have to choose between style and comfort when it comes to buying shoes, I promise both at the same time. This is what sets me apart from competitors in the shoe space.

And then I deliver on this promise by offering shoe designs that make clients go “ooo” at how great they look, and then say “ahhh” at how comfortable they feel on the feet. You can use this same strategy for your own business.

Putting It All Together 
A couple of questions to ask yourself are:

• Is my promise still relevant?
• Has my promise changed over time?
• How can I tweak my promise to be better?

Your action step of the day is to optimize your promise. Clarify the wording if needed so that you can market as effectively as possible and reach the right people.

A strong promise is something you can build your business on, market on, buy your inventory on, align your process on, and choose all of your people on. All of this will create a system in which you can finally boost your profit. And with profit comes great freedom!

But it all starts with ultimate clarity around the promise.

The insights in this blog post are based on an episode of my new podcast, Business Owner Breakthrough! To check out the whole episode, click here.