Selling Value

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January 12, 2013 by hoskinsphil

Over the years I have encountered several types of salespeople. Each one having gone through some sort of training, some more than others, and each one being taught the importance of selling value verses price. Regardless of the product or service you are trying to sell, selling value will always result in higher profits. Why does this concept seem so simple yet become so complicated to carry out?

In today’s culture it is very typical for consumers to jump right into price. “How much is this going to cost me?” or “What’s your best price?” Salespeople, you can kill your sale depending on your answers to questions like these. You may still close the deal, but you most likely will not maximize your earnings or the profits for your organization if you fall into the trap of talking about price. So how do we move forward without talking about price?

First things first….take control of your sale. Never forget that you are the trained expert, the trusted adviser, and you are who they are going to look to for all of the answers to their questions. Simply steer the conversation from price back to your product or service. “Well sir the price could vary depending on what your needs are, this may not even be the right product for you, let’s talk a little bit more about what your looking for, and then we’ll get back to talking price when we know exactly what is going to work best for you.” Take control of your sale.

Now the most important word in that statement above was “needs”. One of your greatest assets when it comes to value based selling is understanding your customers needs. At this point in the sales process you need to asking probing questions. Their answers will assist you in determining what product, package, or service is going to fit their needs, and you will also discover their wants. Now, if you are a trained professional who knows their product or service as most salespeople should, then with this information you have gathered from your prospect you should have 2-3 options ready to present to your prospect.

Selling value is simple if you maintain control of your sale. Once you have determined their needs/wants, and matched that with your products or services, you should now be able to present that product or service to your prospect with little chance for rebuttal. Remember to always refer back to your needs/wants assessment when presenting. Ask the prospect questions to gain agreement. “And as you can see Mr. Prospect this particular widget has this, that, and the other. Would you agree that this widget has everything you were looking for in a widget?” Hard for them to say no when the have already told you what their needs/wants are.

Selling value requires you to listen to your prospects, when you are first looking at the product or service remember to take mental note of the key features they are looking for in that product or service. Selling value also requires you to know your product or service thoroughly….you never want to miss an opportunity to point out a feature or a benefit that will build value. Build value based upon what they have told you, and pricing or cost will become further and further from their mind.

When you build enough value the moment you present their cost they will already be thinking of how much they are going to enjoy their product or service and you should have little objection. Will this work 100% of the time? No, you will always have individuals looking for a deal. However, when you build value you have plenty of ammunition to combat and manage objections. There is no selling technique that will give you a 100% closing percentage, but selling based on value verses pricing or cost will result in more money in your organizations pocket, which always means more money in the salespersons pocket.

Stay tuned for more selling tips and techniques.

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