The Three Different Forms of Selling
The focus of feature-based selling is on what a product can accomplish. Less experienced salespeople will lean on this and try to wow prospects with the precise capabilities of their product or service. However, this strategy makes it difficult for the end user to grasp how the service will benefit them.
Benefits-based selling is the next step up from feature-based selling. This strategy goes beyond just showing product or service characteristics and connects those capabilities to the advantages they may deliver. These advantages hint at the value that may be offered, but they do not explain why the particular prospect and their firm should desire the service.
Value-based selling emphasises how a product’s or service’s qualities will give value to the individual prospect and their organisation. It connects unique corporate and customer requirements and context to solution suggestions. It is buyer-centric and focuses on the individual customer’s advantage across the whole sales process, from first contact through consultation to closing.
Value-based selling fosters trust between the prospect and the sales representative, resulting in a more efficient sales process and a greater possibility of closing.
The Basics of Value-Based Selling
Conduct extensive research
You can’t sell on value if you don’t know what the prospect and their business value. In order to understand the prospect’s demands, value-based selling necessitates extensive study at the start of the sales process.
What obstacles are they attempting to overcome? What effect do these obstacles have on their business? Why are they hunting for answers now? What is their company’s landscape? What are their objectives? What are the motives of the many buyers involved?
Concentrate on learning all you can about the customer and the firm so that you can personalise your sales procedure to their specific scenario.
Contextualize the dialogue by focusing on the buyer
Once you’ve determined what’s useful to your prospect, focus the remainder of your interactions on it. After the first knowledge-gathering call, every discussion you have with that organisation should begin with a reference to why they sought you out in the first place.
By doing so, you can keep the sales process focused on the prospects and their requirements rather than your organisation and product.
When you’re at the solutions suggestion stage, for example, instead of just suggesting “you should purchase this product because it can do X, Y, and Z,” you’d add “Because you’re attempting to solve this problem, you need to achieve these objectives.” These characteristics of our product will assist you in doing so.”
Consider an educational approach
As a salesman, you must be ready to adopt a consultative and instructive approach with your customers. You can’t simply throw all of the time.
You want customers to feel at ease with you, to trust you, and to be willing to learn from you.
Education has a lot of value in and of itself. You may assure that you’re offering your prospect something that will genuinely benefit them and solve their difficulties by educating yourself and your consumer about the core issue you’re fixing for.
Be human
To pursue a value-based approach effectively, you must be personal and empathic. Prospects will not believe you if you come out as too scripted and robotic, as if you’re merely going through the motions to make a sell.
Throughout the process, demonstrate that you really care about the consumer and their problem. Maintain conversational tone in your conversations. Ask open-ended inquiries and pay attention to what the prospect is saying. Treat them as though they were a genuine person, not simply a source of revenue.
Key takeaways
People dislike being marketed to. They like engaging in human discussions, learning new knowledge, and resolving problems. Value-based selling focuses on knowing the customer and their firm so that you may concentrate your sales process on what is important to the buyer.
Taking this technique will result in stronger connections between sales agents and prospects, larger deal sizes, greater win rates, and more customers who become evangelists.
When customers believe that a sales agent is concerned with their requirements rather than simply a commission, they will be more receptive to a consultative approach, allowing sales staff to extend the scope of the opportunity. Furthermore, the rich information gathered throughout the sales process may be passed on to the support staff, resulting in more personalised onboarding and a better overall client experience.
