Value-Based Selling: What You Need to Know

The act of selling has existed for as long as someone had something that someone else wanted. One party would exchange a thing of value with the other party for something of similar value. It might be precious metals, jewels, or even food or raw materials. Today, we use cash and credit for this process.

While that exchange of value for value is still the core of the sales process, we’ve lost some of the focus. Too often, salespeople focus on extolling the features and capabilities of the product or service they’re selling. That leads to a one-sided situation where the seller is just talking about how good they are. Ultimately, that doesn’t do much for the buyer, because it doesn’t address their core needs. 

Talking about features and capabilities is all well and good, but you need to show a potential customer how your offering will change their situation. What’s the value for them? This is called value-based selling and it’s quickly becoming the go-to solution for teams facing challenges with their existing sales approach.

Understanding value-based selling

Value-based selling is really about taking a step back, removing yourself or your brand from the equation, and focusing on benefiting the customer. They’re the reason you’re in business in the first place, so a customer-centric approach makes a lot of sense. It’s all about encouraging the customer to make a purchase decision based on the potential value the product can provide them. 

You want your customers to make informed decisions. You also want your brand to stand out. In a sea of competitors pressuring people to buy, buy, buy, you can do that through value-based selling where you educate, support, and guide prospects to the solution that is best for them (which is hopefully your offering).

The pillars of value-based selling

Value-based selling can be transformative, but you must build your efforts on a strong foundation. The following pillars can support your sales programs and ensure that you’re engaging with leads in a supportive, needs-focused way.

Know their needs

The entire point of value-based selling is to show how your solution addresses your leads’ needs. You can’t do that if you don’t know what they are. You learn about them by asking questions. The more questions you ask about their current situation and needs, the more likely you’ll uncover their pain points and understand how you might be able to help. 

It’s not just about your audience in general, however. Ultimately, all sales processes are one-on-one. You need to know the challenges and pain points each specific lead faces so that you can highlight the value of your offering effectively and understand how best to serve them.

Save the sales pitch for later

Value-based selling is about serving the needs of your customers. Those needs don’t include a sales pitch. Putting that pitch out there too soon can cost you sales. Take some time to communicate with them first. 

Get to know and understand them. Let them tell you in their own words the problems that they’re facing. Then you’ll have a better idea of how to serve them and how to solve their challenges. It also allows you to better position your product or service while creating a genuine relationship between your brand and the customer.

Explain the value, not the features

Every customer has a problem, and every brand has a solution. Your job is to understand the problem that the customer you’re dealing with has and then explain the value of your solution. 

How does your product or service benefit them? What will it enable for them? For instance, if you’re selling a calendar app, the value isn’t being able to sync appointments across devices, it’s never missing an appointment because they always have access to important information no matter what device they’re using.  

Educate, don’t sell

No one wants to be sold. They want to feel in charge of their decision-making process. You can do that by educating them instead of selling. Doing so offers some pretty impressive benefits. For instance, you help establish trust in your brand and offering. You also help ensure that you stand out from competitors who are just looking for a quick sale and not interested in creating a lasting relationship or empowering buyers to find the solution that’s truly best for them.

Be a consultant

With value-based selling, your ultimate goal isn’t to sell a product or service. It’s to help the customer make the best decision for their needs. Hopefully, that means buying what you have to offer. However, it may not. By taking on the role of consultant, you can help each customer make the right decision, whether that’s buying your product or opting for something else that fits their needs better. 

Add value throughout the relationship

Finally, make sure you add value to every interaction. Each touchpoint should leave the customer feeling better off than they were before, whether that’s because they’re more informed or for some other reason. The more value you add, the more trust you build, and the more likely the customer is to buy from you.

Value-based selling doesn’t apply to just your sales process

Value-based selling can transform your sales process. However, providing value doesn’t apply just during that process. It’s also important that you offer value at other touchpoints. Working with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists ensures that every call has a human touch. It’s part of ensuring that your brand stands out. Rather than a faceless automated system that offers a frustrating experience, customers speak with a live person. Of course, we offer more than 24/7 phone answering. We help create the personalized experience your customers deserve with custom greetings, appointment booking, and call intelligence and metadata that help you get to know their needs better. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai.