With a topic like value-based selling, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Everyone seems to have some sales-seminar-ready spin on the concept, or claims to have some “secret” that will transform your sales results. Don’t fall for the hype. The core concepts behind value-based selling are actually quite simple.
Let’s start with the basics: People want to know how your product or service helps them, not just what you do. Value-based selling is simply a matter of clearly communicating why someone would want your product or service. You’re showing them the value of what you’re selling. Not in an abstract sense, but why it’s valuable to that specific customer. That’s it.
Everything else in the value-based selling playbook is about the most effective way to demonstrate that value.
Let’s take a look at four simple, easy-to-understand strategies for applying this idea in your day-to-day sales:
Pitch your products to prospects that actually need them.
In the ever-optimistic world of sales, everyone and anyone on your prospect list could theoretically benefit from the product or service your company is trying to sell.
In the real world, however, things aren’t so simple. You need to understand your potential customers’ needs.
Understand your audience and do your homework.
Answer these important questions:
- What are the prospect’s challenges, pain points and goals?
- Does the product you’re selling actually solve a problem this company is facing?
- On your very first sales call with them, ask them point blank if the solution your company provides would be a good fit. If not, don’t try to find a way to make it fit. You don’t want to waste their time, and you definitely don’t want to waste your own time.
Listen to your prospects.
One of the weaknesses of the script-based approach to sales is that it tends to de-emphasize the importance of conversation. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have a plan when talking to a prospect — you absolutely should — but it’s just as essential to create a real dialog. Nothing says “high-pressure sales” like sticking to your bullet points without responding in good faith to a prospect’s genuine concerns and questions.
One of the benefits of a conversation-based approach to sales is that it allows you to gain a better understanding of the prospect’s needs. A prospect may not be interested in the top-line feature that all your sales materials focus on. They may be budget-conscious right now and want to find a solution for today that can grow into something bigger tomorrow. They may have a unique use case. Some other feature of your product may be exactly the solution they’re looking for, however, and you might not be able to identify that opportunity if you aren’t first willing to listen.
Show them exactly what your product or service can do.
From the prospect’s perspective, the value of your product or service isn’t absolute. To be truly valuable to them, it has to actually solve their problem. In a value-based selling approach, your job is to make the utility of your solution unambiguously clear.
Consider a company that is still using an old, decentralized approach to customer management. Hunting customer information across Excel spreadsheets, paper records, and emails is painfully time consuming and impossible to automate. In that context, it’s not hard to show the prospect the value of a customer relationship management (CRM) system. The value of a CRM is obvious, even after spending just a few moments with it. Showing them the CRM will go a lot farther than simply telling them about it.
Offer the added value of your expertise.
It’s easy to forget this, but from the perspective of the prospect, your sales team is filled with experts. After all, your company provides solutions to the exact kinds of problems the prospect is facing. The potential value of a relationship between your two companies isn’t limited to these specific products or services. For the prospect, simply having access to your company’s expertise is valuable.
Make this expertise a feature of your sales presentation and overall offering. Educate your prospects, and provide them with truly useful information whenever possible. This not only helps to build trust — an essential part of the sales process — but it also creates a strong incentive to continue the business relationship. If the prospect goes with another provider, after all, they lose access to your expertise.
Another overlooked component of value-based selling is having the right tools and training in place to maximize your results. To learn more about how FayeBSG can help your business with the education, technology, and experience it needs to thrive in these unpredictable times, contact us for a free consultation.
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