Value-added selling has certainly been a buzz word, and very few would argue that doing value-added selling well can be a challenge, especially if a competitor is selling essentially the same product.
A recent blog on Inc.com addresses this challenge:
“Despite the overuse and misunderstanding of the ‘V’ word in recent years, selling organizations have received the message: The one and only thing customers really want to know is, ‘What is the value to me if I buy from you?’ If everyone got the message and the value strategy is in play, why aren’t customers responding? At the same time, why are sales cycle times lengthening, the number of ‘no decisions’ increasing, and it’s tougher than ever to engage C-level executives?”
No one says they don’t “sell value,” this blogger says. But many salespeople are presenting the “value proposition” in a vacuum and lack insight into the customer’s point of view about real value. Real value is what an individual customer requires and should not be based on one-size-fits-all assumptions, he says.
An article published by MDM in 2007 looked at how distributors can “get paid for the value you add.”
The authors of that article recommend a go-to-market strategy with four steps:
- Develop a deeper understanding of the value drivers for each market segment.
- Determine costs to serve those segments
- Design specific offer and pricing structures specifically for those segments.
- Create organizational alignment and communicate value to the market.
The authors say:
“Based on years of working with distribution companies, we know that most don’t fully understand how their customers value their products and services and get caught up in the mindset of ‘the way things usually work.’ Even the most commodity-intensive business can improve revenue, margins and profits by adopting a value-based strategy that targets specific market segments with products and services that drive the economics of their customer’s business.”
Read that article here.
