Clients define value by looking at the differential between the perceived benefit and the actual cost of your proposal. The need to obtain more value, with a higher degree of certainty, becomes more pronounced in a sluggish economy..
This leads us to the most fundamental equation of value creation:
Value = Benefits – Cost
You will note that, in the absence of a validated method for the client to define and state the benefit of using your solution to solve their explicit needs, the focus will always remain on the cost.
Value creating conversations
Many are aware of the need to define the value as the “return on investment” for the client. Instead, it is critical to develop a strategy to communicate this benefit as the client sees it through their own lens in their own words, and not as the sales executive sees it.
How do we achieve this? We need to ask the insightful questions that get the clients to state the benefit in their own words, rather than be told.
The benefit as quantified by the client has to be tied directly to a need that they want to act on (called an Advance). The more needs a client states that they can solve with your solution, the higher the value that they see – leading to a premium on your price.
- Weather the storm
- Do less, get more
- Lower risk, not price
- Gain a premium price
- More promotions and campaigns
- Cross-selling
