By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling®
In initial calls it is important for sellers to conduct them in a way that helps buyers conclude they are sincere and competent. In my mind these are pre-requisites for having buyers share their business goals (or problems) so that potential value can be determined.
Once a goal has been shared, sellers should try to perform these five (5) steps to quantify value for buyers:
- Establish base lines. For example, if a VP of manufacturing wants to reduce scrap a seller should ask what percentage of production must be scrapped and/or what dollar amount that represents.
- Ask questions to determine if there is a trend and that by projecting a year ahead buyers could see increased benefits. Sellers can pose questions such as:
- What was your percentage of scrap last year?
- Have scrap percentages been increasing?
- Help buyers understand the barriers to achieving the goal that can be addressed by features or capabilities of the offering being discussed.
- Based upon the barriers the buyer shared, offer the specific capabilities that address them and ask if they would empower them to achieve their goal.
- If a buyer agrees, the seller can try to quantify benefit by asking: If you had these capabilities how much improvement do you think you could realize?
Remember: Establishing value can be a competitive differentiator.
Sellers that focus on goals, baselines, trends and quantifying improvement can instill a greater sense of urgency to take actions that can result in higher win rates.
Save the infographic below for easy reference.
