In today’s economy, having a compelling business value proposition and being able to deliver against that promise is not a "nice to have," it’s the price of admission. Companies today constantly vie for business decision makers’ attention and the opportunity to sell their product or solution.
Every sales rep dreads hearing prospect objections. From “Your price is too high,” to “Call me again in three months when I get my budget back,” it can sometimes seem like all prospects want to do is find reasons not to buy from you. This is a frustrating situation for reps, especially when they feel, as the best do, that their product or solution could actually help the prospect and improve his or her business. So what’s the disconnect? If your offering can actually make life easier for this prospect, why is she spending so much time finding reasons to reject it?
How well can you describe your offering's value to different market segments? This is critical to any successful business strategy. Unfortunately, many B2B sales and marketing professionals communicate value in broad, generic terms, or fail to customize their language to appeal to different market segments.
In most competitive endeavors, fundamentals are what we must first learn and master in order to perform well. They provide us with confidence in setting basic direction and a stable foundation when the going gets rough. In marketing, sound fundamentals help set strategic direction, guide tactical plans and provide benchmarks for determining execution and performance.
When building relationships with buyers, it’s important to choose your words carefully. We’re not just referring to small talk or the language of negotiation. We’re talking about the specific words you use to describe your offering and what differentiates it. A lot of sellers and marketers make the mistake of using what we call “ity” words when attempting to convey the value of their offering. For example:
Closing a deal with a long and/or complex sales cycle can take a great deal of time and effort. However, it should always include a persuasive, value-focused business case. Why? Because a comprehensive business case provides your customers with the financial logic of investing in your solution.
Great value propositions are essential if you want to prospect effectively and win more customers. Despite this, we’ve found that these propositions can be tricky for both marketers and sellers alike. Often they simply aren’t sure what their value proposition is. This is common at companies that sell complex products and/or have multiple product lines/business units. Such companies could have hundreds of different propositions aimed at their different market segments. In other cases, marketing and sales teams don’t know their value propositions because their companies have never embarked on the proper process to formulate them.
An RFP lands in your inbox. It’s from a company you would love to do business with. Your pipeline for the next two quarters isn’t as strong as it could be, and several of your biggest opportunities seem to be stuck in the dreaded “no decision” limbo.
If you want to increase your average deal size, the best thing you can do is learn to sell based on value. That’s because a value-based selling approach helps you justify your price and expand cross-selling and upselling opportunities. Here’s how it works.
Have you ever heard customers say, “I don’t believe these numbers,” while showing them the business case for your offering? It’s not that the customer thinks you’re a liar. The problem is that many customers come to the table with existing assumptions or prejudices around benefit dimensions. Therefore, your ROI estimates can seem like pipe dreams.
