10 Tips for Value-Driven Selling

While watching auto racing on television, the focus is on the drivers, but it takes a highly motivated team to win races.  Likewise, value selling centers around the customer and value-driven teams in sync with customers win and retain more business more often. 

A value-based selling model helps deepen customer relations long-term, as customers know your business can support their unique needs. Moreover, 87% of high-growth companies use the value-based selling methodology, understanding its impact on increasing conversion rates. 

This guide will cover the top ten tips on how your sales and company teams can successfully achieve value-based selling. 

1. Rev-Up Your Unique Selling Proposition 

The first step to the value selling sales methodology is identifying the unique value that you provide with your business solutions. Your unique selling proposition (USP) assists you in differentiating yourself from competitors. 

To craft your USP, consider the issue that your solution addresses. What particular aspects of your products or services provide the most relevant and useful value in helping customers overcome this issue? You can discuss this with decision-makers in your company for detailed insight and with your customers to validate your assumptions.

2. Ramp Up Your Research

Researching your customers will ensure you understand their pain points and demonstrate your investment in providing them with the utmost value. Based on the research you've already completed, craft some very specific questions based on what you've uncovered about their strategic goals, risks faced, and financial performance. These will help you understand the role your buyer plays in the achievement of these goals.

Check out the following for some ideas:

• Website: Customers' websites will help you comprehend their current initiatives or see if there have been any recent developments in their products or services. 
• Social media pages: Social media can show you a customer's current interests. 
• Google presence: A Google search can provide you with more factual information regarding companies, such as quarterly earnings or similar reports. 
• Your common connections: Mutual connections with a potential customer can further shed insight on a customer's pain points. 
• Annual Reports and 10Ks: For public companies, their annual and quarterly reports will give you a deeper understanding of their key strategic initiatives and financial performance.

3. Act as Your Prospect’s Pit Crew By Asking Questions

While completing research on your own will set you up with a plan, asking open, value-based selling questions will demonstrate your desire to get to know them such as:

• Which value-based insights are most important to your company?
• What are your company’s strategic goals and how does your team help support them? 
• What key KPIs are you striving to improve this year and what programs do you have in place to help you achieve them?
• How would your best customers describe the value of your products on their business? 

4. Value is the Gas 

To offer your customers value, you first need to define the types of value you can deliver. For example, a typical value-based selling example is providing a quantitative incentive. Perhaps you can help your customers save money or earn more of it. Alternatively, you may provide qualitative value, such as making their operations smoother or easier to undergo by saving them time or improving efficiency. 

5. Review the Replays Together

One of the key value-based selling principles is to act as an advisor rather than a salesperson. Doing so frames you as a resource for education and expertise. For example, you can create a slideshow presentation that first explores the issues the client needs solved and then demonstrates how the value you bring with your solution solves these problems. 

6. Tune in to Your Interaction

Being personable will help set up your salespeople as advisors in addition to sales staff. 

Unfortunately, customers hear countless generic sales pitches that often don’t take time to understand their organization’s goals and how they can help them achieve them.  To rectify this common error, maintain an informal, friendly atmosphere where customers can trust that you have their best interests in mind. 

7. Remove Your Ear Plugs and Be an Active Listener 

Aside from being educational and personable, become an active listener to customers as they describe their current situation and pain points. This factor often separates value-based selling vs. solution selling. Value-based selling emphasizes the benefits of listening more than speaking. 

8. Share the Scoreboards and the Winning Stats 

To prove that your value has impacted other businesses, gather what customer testimonials, case studies, or statistics you can. Doing so is particularly helpful if you aim to propose financial value to your customer, as concrete numbers and facts back up your claims. 

9. Watch Your Field

While your goal with value-based selling is to illustrate the unique value your company can provide to its customers, it's also advantageous to see what's working for your competitors. You can research your competitors' websites to understand better the value they offer and how customers have responded to it through their customer testimonials. You'll be able to hone in on your unique value. 

10. Draft With Additional Value 

You still have ample opportunity to continue to drive value to customers post-sale.  Value selling scales beyond the initial sale and should be incorporated at all stages of the customer journey. For instance, after initial meetings with prospective customers, you can send them educational articles or online content that addresses their specific needs. Additionally, you can continue to have value-based selling dialogues to ensure customer loyalty, renewals, and expansion. 

Win With Value-Based Selling for Your Business

Value-based selling techniques set up your business as one that focuses on customers' needs. This is imperative to developing strong customer relations and turning buyers into loyal patrons of your brand. 

Fortunately, DecisionLink offers value management solutions to get your sales team started on your value-based sales cycle today. So get in touch to see how we can help your team accelerate to the checkered flag, also known as value realization.