Transforming to a value selling B2B sales culture resolves potential conflict with your customers. It’s more effective, and sustainable in the long term to deliver a sales message around value.
The goal of value selling is to present reasoning to show that the value of the transaction more than justifies the price. Seen through the returns of using the product or service.
Value as a proposition can be owned and perceived as unique for your solution – whereas by reducing prices, it is a slippery slope that many can follow.
Value selling in today’s marketplace
While reducing prices is a common knee jerk reaction, especially during these drastic pandemic times, it can be a short-term boost and sell a few more products.
But as a revenue strategy, slashing prices does not necessarily create extra demand; it may just temporarily shift price-sensitive business or at worse trigger a price war.
In the longer-term discounting can harm your pricing integrity, leading to resistance to future price increases when markets have improved and bounced back.
There’s no such thing as “one size fits all”.
And if you have focused on building a customer base that is price sensitive, they’ll be motivated by price. So, when a contract comes to an end or there is a need for a replacement, customers will look for the cheapest deal and not the value of what they are getting.
Value selling simplifies the purchasing process by showing customers what they gain: financial worth and an improved bottom line.
You need to really show your customers how much your product will help them achieve whatever their end goal may be.
By refocusing the discussion between buyer and seller from price to value, the seller protects margins, saves time and effort.
Value selling creates a situation where prospects are less dazzled by price and are more motivated to realize the value your product will generate for them.
Providing a unique solution.
Developing a proposition based on how you uniquely address customer challenges makes it harder for your competitors to copy and emulate your solutions.
By building customer loyalty through value rather than price means buyers tend to have a vested interest in you and your product. It will take more than just a price drop to shift their business to another vendor.
If the seller can convince customers that a product offers better value overall, they won’t have to sacrifice profits by dropping prices. And being able to transparently show the returns post sale, not just projected but actual figures is a winning sales formula.
How to apply value selling.
Before the value of your solution is recognized by a sales prospect, they must first acknowledge that they have a problem, that it needs to be addressed urgently and that inaction comes at a cost.
The reason value selling is effective is because it takes into account the needs and wants of the customer. Matching a solution by listening to the customer needs and pains creates a targeted approach that builds a positive buyer-seller relationship.
Focus on the customer and their problem.
As the old saying goes, “…you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink …”. In other words, there is no point in trying to sell a solution to a prospect if they don’t recognize that they have a problem or see the value of solving it.
Pushing a prospect prematurely along the sales process will typically end in a missed opportunity. Your prospective buyer may not be ready or just not a good fit.
Instead of focusing on your own needs to close a sale, focus instead on the buyer’s desire to get a problem solved. So, talk to them about their pain.
Start conversations around the buyer’s plans, goals and challenges. Being able to visualize the benefits of using your product can be a great way to nurture prospects along the buying journey.
Walk in your buyers shoes.
The typical B2B sales process is often driven by the needs of the seller, not the buyer. It’s hardly surprising that things the salesperson sees as important may not have any intrinsic value to the buyer.
It’s a question of trust for the buyer. They are thinking does the seller have my best interests at heart. Especially if they are talking rather than listening and offering features that don’t meet your needs. What you are looking for is advice rather than a sales pitch.
With today’s transparent digital economy buyers continue to look for help, especially for a complicated sales process. They have probably already done copious research and are looking for advice first and foremost.
Value selling requires specifics on how you drive value for the buyer. Rather than a broad description of all that you can offer, highlight what is most relevant to successfully address the buyers pain.
Educate don’t sell.
“Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t. Seth Godin
One of the most effective ways to provide value to your prospects and customers is to educate them through information and insights. It is an effective strategy to build trust and an emotional bond with your contacts. The goal should be to become the “go-to” resource for advice.
In addition, prospective buyers struggle with other factors that you may also need to educate them on, for example they may have:
- Limited specialist purchasing experience in your segment.
- Fears of the “unknown” through lack of references or proof of ROI.
ValueVisualizer®
In the value selling process as well as articulating the outcomes and benefits of the offer, the ValueVisualizer can visualise the return on investment.
The ValueVisualizer® is an interactive web-app that visualizes investment value for products and services.
For example, if your business is selling a more expensive water pump than your competitor, how much will the customer save in reduced downtime?
Most B2B purchases are made with ROI in mind. Being able to communicate a solution in financial terms enables a sales team to qualify product values more effectively.
If you want to hear more about ValueVisualizer® or to hear how we can help you re-invent how to work remotely and to enhance your approach to value selling, don’t hesitate to book a Free Consultation: mail@alpaxa.com
