Tips On Value Based Selling

Value proposition is a hot topic at this time.  We asked some salesprofessionals for their advice on selling value.  Here is what they said:

1. A Value is the business case, it is as simple and indeed as complex as that.  It is not a matter of features and benefits, or competitive advantage.  Rather it is a sophisticated costs and benefits equation.  To ensure that the purchase gets sanctioned requires nothing short of a compelling business case.  That requires a model demonstrating the impact on the prospect’s business in a quantifiable manner.

2.   A full understanding of the real requirements or the real reason the client requires a solution is essential. But, value is not what marketing says it is.  It is not what your brochures or powerpoint slides say it is.  Diagnoses of the real requirements is done with the customer in the room not back in the office with a team of internal people. It should not be rushed. It will take a number of meetings especially in high value sales.

3. When selling solutions to complex buying units, sellers need to understand that while companies seek results, but people look for personal wins. The vendor needs to understand the personal win that is going to motivate each member of the buying unit. These personal wins can unlock added value that buyers will pay extra for.

4. Value is about giving an incentive to change, once the incentive is there the customers focus then switches to ensuring that the solution being considered can be delivered as promised.  Value is derived from the delivery process, team and tools – a point that is often under-estimated.

5. Value needs to be win win – if it isn’t then one, or either party may live to regret the deal.

6. Walking away can be the right thing to do – two of our clients walked away from deals in 2007, the deals were awarded to their competition. The projects were put on hold in 2008 ad our clients were asked to rescue the projects.

7. Value is built across the sales cycle not a the end of it.  It is also in the sales process, not just in what is being sold.  The process where the seller helps the buyer to match the solution to his/her requirements, build the business case and minimize risk (e.g. via demos and pilots) are essential to building value.

8. It is very difficult to position your value when responding to RFI’s and RFP’s .

Posted by Ray Collis on 2:05 pm. Filed under Defining The Solution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry