A buyer is asking themselves a question about every seller that ever steps foot in their office: “Based on the choices available to me, why should I buy from you?” If you, as a salesperson, can’t answer that question in meaningful, impactful way then what do you think is the one criterion buyers will use to make a buying decision? The answer to that question is PRICE!! Price will be the only discernible difference buyers see between your product and the competitor’s product. To keep from falling into a trap of price, price, price, you must be able to answer that question. You must create a value message and be able to communicate it effectively, and that’s not as easy as it sounds. Let’s explore a little further by digging into the concept of value.
Value is not some intangible, nebulous concept that just floats in the air…hard to define…hard to capture. I have a very simple definition for the concept of value in sales. It’s the total experience you deliver to your customer in form of Product, Company, and You. Salespeople are usually well equipped to discuss the company they represent, and the products they sell, but not many have a good personal story on themselves. Spend some time thinking about yourself – when you win customers from the competition, what did you do that was unique and different from the competition? This does not need to be a lengthy dialogue about how great you are, but a 15-20 second story about “You” that is concise and succinct. I look at Value as a 3-legged stool. There is a leg for the company you represent, the products you sell, and YOU. If you don’t have an effective story for all three legs, you’re selling yourself short. There is value to define and communicate that you’re just leaving on the sidelines. Remember, what you talk about, you can get paid for. What you don’t talk about, you will never get paid for.
Another thing to consider is the quality of your value message. Ideally, your messages about your products, services and You should be concise and succinct. However, I believe salespeople struggle with being concise in their discussions with customers. In the famous words of Forest Gump, “They jabber on like a monkey in a tree.” It requires focus during sales calls to stay on track and not wander around mentally and verbally. Focus on your goal for the sales call and the messages you want to deliver. Be mindful of your time, as well as the time of your customer. Time is money and you don’t want customers or prospects to be weary of interacting with you and spending too much time in a meeting away from their business. Your time is extremely valuable as well. Time you save on sales calls by narrowing the focus of your messaging and moving on once the objective has been achieved will allow you the time to make more sales calls. Remember, sales is a numbers game: The more calls you make, the more sales you stand to make.
Remember the original question customers have during sales calls: “Based on the choices available to me, why should I buy from you?” If I got hired tomorrow by any company, for any territory, anywhere in the country, you better believe I would stay in the office until I could answer that question. Going out into your territory without a clear answer to that question drives potential customers to a price decision, and then you get offended when they go there – “it’s all about price” or “I’m getting killed on price.” You may win a price battle from time to time, but very few, if any of us, are set up to win a price war. Happy Selling!
