Have you heard someone say, “You get more bang for your buck?”
This statement looks to connect price to value creation.
Yes, sometimes price is connected to the buyers’ value drivers. However, quite often price is not the value driver. No, what drives the buying decision is often an internal value driver that frequently is not verbalized.
For example, what if the decision to buy your solution is linked to these internal desires or emotions?
• How will this reduce the decision maker’s stress?
• How will this make the buyer look good to the boss?
• How will this secure recognition for the decision maker outside of his or her business?
Possibly through some effective open-ended questions, you have uncovered the sales prospect is under stress or wants to further himself or herself within the organization. Yet, learning of a desire of recognition outside of the current business may not be readily uncovered.
For some decision makers price is not even a significant consideration. Ongoing sales research suggests anywhere from 30 percent to 60 percent of the buying decision is made before contacting any salesperson. Price has already probably been considered and now the sales prospect is looking for more value beyond price.
This leads to what is value behind the need or the want for your solution to be even considered? To answer this question will dramatically change many of those open-ended discovery questions and will demand even more active listening on the part of the sales professional.
The jump to price also may shortchange the salesperson’s commission or bonus. By discovering what is driving the decision-making process allows for potential upselling opportunities that had not been previously considered. This discovery may require outside research by the salesperson before having that first meeting.
Yes value is important. Just remember value is not necessarily driven by price.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith is an author, speaker and executive coach. Her weekly column explores issues that impact the bottom line of firms with fewer than 100 employees. She can be reached at 219-508-2859.
