The Value Proposition: the centerpiece of a sales presentation

I recently gave a networking workshop.  My focus was the "elevator speech"--the speech that you give when someone asks you what you do for a living; the speech that the listener gives you thirty seconds to deliver and rolls their eyes when you never get to the point.  The centerpiece of the elevator speech is the Value Proposition.
Wikipedia defines a value proposition as "a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged.  It is also a belief from the customer about how value will be delivered, experienced and acquired.  A value proposition can apply to an entire organization, or parts thereof, or customers accounts, or products or services."
The value proposition of the products or service that you sell are the things that distinguish them and separate them from the competition--what is often called the features and benefits.  The value proposition can also be the benefits that you bring to the sales process or the organization that you represent.  The value proposition is a statement summarizing why someone should use your product or service over anyone else's.  It is absolutely essential that you think about this and internalize it and practice it and use it every chance you get.  It doesn't need to be long--in fact it should be short and to the point and represent the soul of who you are and what you're selling.  Some examples:
Uber, the car service:  1. Pickup in less than 5 minutes; 2. Lower prices than a taxi; 3. An app to track your car's approach; 4. Cashless transaction; 5. A rating system that guarantees security.  "Tap the app, get a ride."
Slack, the messaging service: "A Messaging App for Teams who put robots on Mars." And "All your tools in one place."
Evernote, an online note storing app: "Remember everything."  "Provides the ability to organize all your notes in one place so you never forget a great idea."

What is the essence or the soul of your business or service?  Once you have determined that, put it into as few words as possible and internalize it and use it until it becomes a part of you.
Every business should have a value and every employee should understand and buy into that value; every person should have a value and should be able to vocalize that value and believe in that value.
This idea is worth thinking about--long and hard.  What is your value?  What is your company's value? What is their product's value? 
People tend to believe in a person or product that has value.  People tend to buy a product or service from a person who believes deeply in what they're selling and can express that value briefly and confidently and from the heart.