Selling Value
Selling Value
Let’s look at an example of how this could work. Let’s say that your prospect says, “$50,000 is a lot of money!” You can respond with something like, “I can appreciate that. Yes, it is a lot of money, but not nearly as much as you’d lose with a system that can’t help you sell your product because it doesn’t do the job or is always in for repair.”
First, I made sure that I showed I had empathy for the client by saying that I can appreciate his opinion and that I agree it is a lot of money. Let’s face reality; it IS a lot of money. So don’t deny the obvious. Then I explained what the value is by saying that without this investment, they will continue to lose money by having a product that won’t handle their job or will not withstand their usage and will always be in for repair. I chose these particular “pain” points because I learned that these were important to the prospect when I was in the qualification phase where I asked questions and listened to his answers.
Notice also that I did not say that my competitor’s products cannot handle his job or that they are of inferior quality and will always be in for repair. Never knock your competitors. Instead, I planted the seeds that will make him know that my product can handle his workload and is reliable, which should make him wonder if my competitors can make the same claims.
Let’s now move on to selling value, since I made the point earlier about not discounting. Let’s say that you are selling a product for $5,000. And your competitor’s product costs the same amount. Also, let’s say that your product and company offers 5 key benefits, called A, B, C, D and E. But your competitor’s offering only offers benefits A, B and D. Obviously, you offer more value than your competitor. This is why it is so important to do research about your competitors so you know how you beat them and where you offer more value than them. The value you offer could be product features, or something your company offers like Sunday delivery, or even your own personal service such as follow-through and account management. Whatever it is, make sure you know your competitor’s offerings and what unique offerings you have that they don’t.
In this example you want to make sure that you highlight, to your prospect, the fact that you offer benefits C and E, which no one else does, all for the same “Investment”. By knowing your competitors and selling more value than what they have to offer, you will increase your success in handling objections and closing more sales. Wouldn’t this be a better value proposition to say to your prospect, “Mr. X, for the same investment of $5,000. you’ll get all 5 benefits, which is two more than anyone else is offering.”
Let’s take this same situation and change the customer’s requirements. Say you are still offering your product with 5 benefits, A thru E, for $5,000. And your competitor is still offering their 3 benefits for $5,000. However, your prospect is objecting to the price because their budget is only $3,500. Telling them you offer 2 more benefits than your competitor for $5,000 isn’t going to help because they can’t afford your added value anyway.
One option is for you to drop your price by discounting to $3,500. But that’s not a wise move. Instead, using your value proposition, you take away value instead of discounting. Tell your prospect that you can eliminate a few benefits; let’s say C and E, since those are benefits your competitors do not offer. As a result, your prospect’s investment will now be $3,500. for which they will receive benefits A, B and D. What you did is made them pay for value instead of discounting. The lower the value, the lower the price. And the lower the price, the lower the value. Now you are selling the exact same benefits as your competitor but for $1,500 less. And you never discounted.
Get in the habit of selling value and you will find that your discounting days are over. By selling value, you ensure the customer gets what he needs and that you don’t lose money – a perfect win-win scenario.
Good luck and good selling!
Russ Lombardo
Selling Value - To learn more about this author, visit Russ Lombardo's Website.
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Selling has its own set of challenges and getting objections from your prospect rates right up there at the top. One particular and all too frequent objection you may here is the one about pricing. We’ve all heard it, “I’m afraid your price is a little high (or out of our range or not within our budget or some other show stopping statement).” Keep in mind that people don’t buy Price, they buy Value, even though they won’t always admit it. This objection means that they don’t fully appreciate the “Value” of what you are selling. However, if this objection keeps coming up in your discussions, then it’s a good indication that they are interested. So don’t view this as a negative objection since it could simply be a buying sign. Unfortunately, many sales people start to discount their product in order to overcome this objection, which is the wrong way to go. The way to handle this objection is to present the value of your offering so they can fully appreciate what their investment will be for that value.
Let’s look at an example of how this could work. Let’s say that your prospect says, “$50,000 is a lot of money!” You can respond with something like, “I can appreciate that. Yes, it is a lot of money, but not nearly as much as you’d lose with a system that can’t help you sell your product because it doesn’t do the job or is always in for repair.”
First, I made sure that I showed I had empathy for the client by saying that I can appreciate his opinion and that I agree it is a lot of money. Let’s face reality; it IS a lot of money. So don’t deny the obvious. Then I explained what the value is by saying that without this investment, they will continue to lose money by having a product that won’t handle their job or will not withstand their usage and will always be in for repair. I chose these particular “pain” points because I learned that these were important to the prospect when I was in the qualification phase where I asked questions and listened to his answers.
Notice also that I did not say that my competitor’s products cannot handle his job or that they are of inferior quality and will always be in for repair. Never knock your competitors. Instead, I planted the seeds that will make him know that my product can handle his workload and is reliable, which should make him wonder if my competitors can make the same claims.
Let’s now move on to selling value, since I made the point earlier about not discounting. Let’s say that you are selling a product for $5,000. And your competitor’s product costs the same amount. Also, let’s say that your product and company offers 5 key benefits, called A, B, C, D and E. But your competitor’s offering only offers benefits A, B and D. Obviously, you offer more value than your competitor. This is why it is so important to do research about your competitors so you know how you beat them and where you offer more value than them. The value you offer could be product features, or something your company offers like Sunday delivery, or even your own personal service such as follow-through and account management. Whatever it is, make sure you know your competitor’s offerings and what unique offerings you have that they don’t.
In this example you want to make sure that you highlight, to your prospect, the fact that you offer benefits C and E, which no one else does, all for the same “Investment”. By knowing your competitors and selling more value than what they have to offer, you will increase your success in handling objections and closing more sales. Wouldn’t this be a better value proposition to say to your prospect, “Mr. X, for the same investment of $5,000. you’ll get all 5 benefits, which is two more than anyone else is offering.”
Let’s take this same situation and change the customer’s requirements. Say you are still offering your product with 5 benefits, A thru E, for $5,000. And your competitor is still offering their 3 benefits for $5,000. However, your prospect is objecting to the price because their budget is only $3,500. Telling them you offer 2 more benefits than your competitor for $5,000 isn’t going to help because they can’t afford your added value anyway.
One option is for you to drop your price by discounting to $3,500. But that’s not a wise move. Instead, using your value proposition, you take away value instead of discounting. Tell your prospect that you can eliminate a few benefits; let’s say C and E, since those are benefits your competitors do not offer. As a result, your prospect’s investment will now be $3,500. for which they will receive benefits A, B and D. What you did is made them pay for value instead of discounting. The lower the value, the lower the price. And the lower the price, the lower the value. Now you are selling the exact same benefits as your competitor but for $1,500 less. And you never discounted.
Get in the habit of selling value and you will find that your discounting days are over. By selling value, you ensure the customer gets what he needs and that you don’t lose money – a perfect win-win scenario.
Good luck and good selling!
Russ Lombardo
Selling Value - To learn more about this author, visit Russ Lombardo's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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