5 Ways to Create Sales Value - Jordan Wolf
There is frequently a lot of noise in sales meetings about creating more sales value when engaging with prospects and customers, but more rarely had is the conversation on how to achieve it. It is my experience that most sales professionals, when posed the question, cannot easily explain how to create sales value. To the point that I would suggest you ask your sales team to define it at your next sales meet. The purpose being that if your people cannot simply explain it, then how can you expect them to deliver it? To be honest, adding Sales Value is open to interpretation so it makes complete sense to have this conversation with your sales organisation sooner rather than later.
My sixpence worth is that it is all about the relevant information, insights, and proposed actions you bring to sales conversations that your prospect or customer might not fully considered up to that point. Look at it from their viewpoint, if you are not bringing these enlightenments to your prospects/customers then why should they want to talk or meet with you? If your sales organisation includes prospecting as part of their daily remit (if it is not, then it should be) then creating immediate sales value is vital in getting conversations started with potential customers. Without it, all that sales energy invested into your prospecting efforts will most likely be wasted because modern prospects do not want to hear egocentric drivel from people, especially from those they do not know.
So how do you go about creating ‘sales value’? Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet for this one. There are many factors to creating added value to your sales conversations and the list below is just some of what is needed:
1. Understand the verticals that you sell in. What are the issues that concern (or should concern) your potential buyers today? What current or future trends can you identify that will have an impact on them?
2. Fully understand and more importantly be able to simply articulate what problems your solution solves for your customers? How it does that? How will it improve their lives?
3. Be your company’s product expert. The go-to person that customers want to deal with and value you for your in-depth product knowledge. If you are not yet that person, make yourself it.
4. Differentiate yourself from the competition. Sometimes easier said than done but is an essential component in creating a sales value proposition. If you fail to differentiate your company and product/service, then how do you expect your customer to do so? In short, they won’t want to or have the time to do so. You will just be another salesperson in the pack of salespeople looking for their business.
5. Do your homework before you approach your next prospect.
When prospecting for new customers creating and articulating immediate sales value (or impact) is a ‘no brainer’. Without it, prospects will most likely not give you the time of day let alone the opportunity to further the sales conversation and generate a meeting. With existing customers, it will create “stickiness” and embedded customer loyalty. A very important asset especially when things go wrong between you and the customer (as they most likely will) from time to time.
