The subtle art of ‘selling’ should be smooth and natural. In simpler words, it should not seem sales-y and intimidating to the customers in any way. While the world shrinks to a smaller place, every process from supplying to marketing has sped up. As more and more companies are relying on broader sales techniques, adding a bigger dent of value in your approaches can change the game altogether. That is when the tricky concept of value-based selling comes into play. Here, in this blog, we will talk about everything you need to know about value-based selling and spill some relevant beans on how to do it the right way. Without any further ado, let us get started. But first, let us brush up on some of the basics.
What is Value-Based Selling?
The definition of value-based selling is actually pretty direct than it might seem. Value-based selling focuses on adding the special ingredient of ‘value’ to your products and services before serving it to your customers. The pivotal goal here is to cater to the customer’s needs so that they being the ultimate user, derive substantial value from the offerings. When done right, it can make up to a massive difference in sealing a deal. In fact, 92% of the buyers like to hear a value proposition quite early in the sales cycle.
One of the recently published IDC’s report also stated that value-based selling at a cloud-software company led to a whopping 70% improvement in the close rates. It also led to augmented close rates of up to 75%. This is a significant increase in the numbers, considering the highly competitive niche and demand of the users.
Technically seen, the reason behind that is pretty simple. A customer resists change. Overcoming their resistance to change can call for a big difference to your sales metrics, as identified in the Dannemiller Model for Change Management Equation:
Source: decisionlink
The model explains that change occurs only when a user’s dissatisfaction with the existing situation is higher than the resistance to make a change. If the user has a clear vision of how they want the changes to take place and the first of steps to reach their set vision, it then turns out way easier to overcome the resistance. Let us now delve into the Value Selling Framework to get a better grasp on the subject.
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Value Selling Framework
In order to integrate value-based selling into your business, you need to know and leverage the framework that goes behind it. A successful and strategized framework can turn a simple solution-selling approach to a brilliantly change your sales approach entirely. Here are four elements that can help in building a value-based selling framework.
Source: decisionlink
Understanding your USP
Before you go ahead and showcase the optimal value to your customers, it is you who needs to believe in your products and services first. Know and understand your offerings. What is it that is your unique selling point (USP)? What is it that sets you apart from the rest? How do you show value better than others? Before approaching a client, ensure that you understand your USP, else the whole point of value-based selling rules out.
Focus on Research and Knowledge
When you club in focus and dedication, you strive to go a long way. Do your market research before you launch your products live and make sure that you come prepared to face everything. Only when you have an in-depth understanding of your offerings, you stand a chance to render the customers with a genuinely helpful, value-clad services that benefit them top-down. This is a win-win for the company as well as the customers too.
Dedication to Teaching
A lot of companies spend an inordinate amount of time following up and contacting the customers just to check in. While sometimes a customer might want the attention, most of the time the case runs in the reverse. Those follow-up messages that offer no value to the customers are easily looked down upon. Make it a point to stand out from the crowd by avoiding the casual points of contact and reaching out only when you have something meaningful and value to the customers. There will come a time when they will start to see you as a useful resource and not spam.
Quality over Quantity
When you focus on quality and not quantity, you tend to close out on a greater percentage of deals with lasting relationships and reduced churn rates. Use the time to render personalized offerings to each of your clients so that they see the value. This will eventually work out in your favor and let your customers to stick around no matter what happens. As a customer too wants to pick quality over quantity. They want to be assured that their money spent does not go out of tethers and is valued back by your offerings.
Value Selling vs. Outcome Selling
Here is the thing – Outcome selling is all about providing primary business outcomes that your clients want to get. After all, how can customer success be possible when you do not know what makes your customer satisfied and successful. Also, higher are the chances of a customer to renew when they have achieved the outcomes that they once wished for.
On the other hand, value selling is based on the ideology that a customer will achieve cost spending in geometric progressions of what they have spent on and will be enabled to earn more than it costs. Know that financial buyers want financial outcomes and would be receptive to your value selling efforts. C-level executives look at the bigger picture. Hence, if your value is just monetary, they too will see you like a commoditized vendor which would serve you do good.
Value Selling vs. Solution Selling
Solution selling is said to be an orthodox approach that leads to mass customization and relationship based. Here, the customer is seen more holistically and aims at fixing the customer’s issues with the offerings. It is still pretty transactional in nature and is all about functionalities and features. It focuses on ascertaining the customer needs and then selling them a solution in form of product or service.
However, in value selling, the focus is primarily on the value attained by solving the customer’s problems. It strives to create and capture mutually meaningful value in every interaction that a customer has with you. Also, value selling is all about facilitating the customer’s buying process and not just the sales process.
Parting Thoughts
One of the best solutions to the current market stance is the value-based selling. As the SaaS business is cut-throat and never sleeps, it is quintessential to come up with your own USPs that set you apart from the rest. And when you provide an exact explanation of the value that you cater to you audience by focusing on value-added selling, you tend to create that mark of differentiation for your company and a customer can see that. With the right tools and techniques, you can actually make value-based selling the core of your sales approaches. Deploy the magic of value in your systems and you will soon start to see a new avenue of positive influences altogether.
Highly accomplished, motivated, and adaptable sales and operations professional with a track record of successful leadership. Known for an empathetic and consultative approach that consistently exceeds growth and revenue goals.
Published June 17, 2021, Updated August 17, 2024
