Value-based sales is a popular term that gets thrown around an awful lot these days. Many major companies claim to provide this service to their customers while citing different reasons why their organization has the best value. From tech support to delivery speed, from warranty policies to company reputability, there are many factors that a company will claim makes them a “value-based seller.”
What is Value Selling?
If you go online and search for the keywords “value based sales” or “value selling,” you will be practically bombarded with articles about how the process works or what value selling really means. For example, Sequeira Consulting’s website defines value based selling as an approach “built on quantifying the impact the service makes on the customer’s financial performance,” a definition mostly suited for business to business (B2B) transactions because it points out the mutual benefits to both the service provider and the client in financial terms. In an article for SalesResources.com, Dave Kahle defined the “value” in value selling as something “defined by the customer, not the supplier,” a definition more in line with the traditional “the customer is always right” mode of thought prevalent in the customer service industry.
In truth, value selling is all of the above and more. In both of the above examples, the emphasis is on what would best serve the needs or wants of the customer, not the price of the service given. Even though a B2B transaction is usually negotiated with both sides looking squarely at the return on investment (ROI), that ROI consideration is only a part of the value being sold to the customer. When a salesperson uses value selling techniques to identify the needs of the customer and highlight how those needs are met by the product being sold, the customer becomes more invested in acquiring that product. When a customer is invested in acquiring a product, that customer is much less likely to allow the transaction negotiation to become stuck or fall through. This applies equally to both B2B and private consumer transactions.
How to Make Value-Based Sales Work for You
By refocusing the discussion between buyer and seller from price to value, the seller can mitigate the risk of lengthy, time-consuming debates and haggling sessions over the cost of the product and keep the buyer from attempting to discount the product to a price which makes it virtually unprofitable.
Using a simple example, a new start-up business is moving into an office and needs to buy light bulbs in bulk because the office was supplied with defective bulbs that burned out within a month. The sales representative of the bulk light bulb company offers the customer high-quality bulbs that are both long-lasting and energy efficient, but it would cost $500 for enough bulbs to fill the office and the buyer only budgeted for $350. If the seller were to drop the price, the light bulb company would barely make enough profit to justify the sale. Cheaper bulbs would burn out too quickly, and the buyer is now wary of “bargain” brand pricing because of the defective product from earlier.
Here is where value-based sales techniques can really shine. The sales rep, knowing that the customer wants the better-quality bulb, can establish the long-term value to the buyer. Even though the initial price of the bulbs is just a little above the customer’s assumed budget the seller can stress the long-term benefits of the high-efficiency bulbs. In this instance, the sales rep would inform the customer about the value of not having to replace the bulbs for up to four times as long as the standard product, thus curtailing the need to continuously budget $350 per year just for new lights, or even mention that the high-efficiency bulbs use half the kilowatt hours of their lower-price counterparts, reducing monthly energy costs. By helping the customer understand the measurable value the product will deliver to his business, the customer will feel less compelled to haggle.
The reason value-based selling works is because it takes into account the needs and wants of the customer to create an approach that best influences the customer’s purchase decision. If a sales rep can create in the customer the impression that the product being sold is indispensable to his or her needs and that the value of the transaction more than justifies the price, that is value-based selling.
Value-based selling engages customers and creates a buying situation where the customer is less focused on price and more anxious to start realizing the benefits This allows sellers to successfully close transactions more often with better profit margins and saves time that can then be dedicated to more customers.
Identifying and addressing a customer’s needs with a product and guiding the customer into recognizing the value of that product is the way in which such involvement builds a healthy, stable relationship between buyer and seller. Buyers who simply receive a product that is cheap without being made aware of the value that they are receiving from the seller will quickly switch to another supplier if they find a cheaper source of the product. Why? Because, without the sense of investment in a product that is supplied by a value-based sales approach, the customer is only focused on the cost of obtaining the product and not the value of what they are getting.
However, when a customer has been invested in the seller’s product through a discussion of the value that is being given, they will consider more than just the price of a competitor product before making a decision to abandon their current supplier. If the seller can keep the customer convinced that their product is a better value overall, they are able to keep the customer’s business without having to sacrifice profits by dropping the cost of the product.
In Conclusion
Ultimately, value-based selling is successful because it provides customers with the understanding that they are making worthwhile investments of their money. Good value-based sales techniques are tailored to the needs of the customer, making them understand why they are buying a quality product for the asking price. Value selling resolves potential customer issues with pricing and prevents the stalling of important deals and the wasting of precious employee man-hours. The rewards for masterfully exploiting value-based sales techniques are well worth the investment for any company with a product to value.
Read about Why Value-Based Selling is Still so Successful.
[Image via Flickr / kennymatic]
