Defining and Building Value, And the Irresistible Offer to Shorten the Sales Cycle

Let’s get this out of the way first. If your buyer doesn’t have the money to spend, you have an uphill battle. That is, unless your buyer’s need is extreme. There is a direct relationship between the strength of value presented, the offer and the number of contacts needed with a prospective buyer.

Very few things can overcome a buyer’s lack of budget for your product or service. However, creating a priority need causes a buyer to find a way.

Assuming the buyer is not in protective-mode or dire need or under the threat of an impending event, creating extreme value, an irresistible offers and powerful risk mitigation and risk elimination messaging is critical to the success of your sales process.

Create a compelling value to price relationship

Creating value is one of the most misunderstood sales and marketing practices you will ever see. If you master this skill, your sales engagements become much more productive. Let’s cover first what building value is not.

Value is not a low price. It is not even the lowest price.

Price may play a factor, particularly if you are in a highly regulated situation, or a highly competitive situation, or perceived of as a commodity. But once you have squeezed out all the excess from the price, what else can you do. And if the only value you offer is price, what’s to stop the next guy from ‘buying’ your business by dropping his price, even at loss?

So price is important, but it isn’t value.

The most compelling value to price story is the ROI, the return on investment. Investment already sounds like a value, doesn’t it? You can also play to the ROE, the return on effort; and the ROR, the return on relationship.

This is where you need to focus your value-building efforts. Find the several things that make you different and give a prospect a reason to want to do business with you. Maybe it is an article you see in the paper you cut out and mail (yes, mail) to your prospect, “Did you see this?” Or, “Thought you might be interested.”

Put together readily available information a certain way and you can position even a perceived commodity item as having unique value for the price when purchased from you rather than the competition. Imagine what happens with information more difficult to come by?

A few ways to do this include:

1. Be as specific to the target buyer’s industry as possible
2. Be as specific to the target buyer’s profile as possible
3. Use official third party data whenever possible, use internal data when it is not
4. Use customer stories that address a prospect’s concerns
5. Use contrast that supports what the buyer’s main reason to do business with you is
6. Use metaphors that support your big idea and resonate with your buyer
7. Offer more than just the product or service you are selling

You may think this next suggestion is off the map. Give it a chance and a good try anyway. It doesn't cost you a thing but a little bit of time and it is as easy as sitting on your couch or favorite chair. Whether you are marketing and selling business-to-business or business-to-consumer set aside some time and watch television infomercials.

Pay attention to the images and imagery used. Look closely at how the infomercial shows either actual users or actors portraying users. Take notes on the dialogue and script.

Pay close enough attention and you will uncover a very specific format followed to build value into the most mundane and commodity-driven products. Watch enough infomercials and you see that hyperbole and hyperactivity is not a requirement.

What is required is the formula of the value-building story.

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Download the full report “28 days and 28 ways to more consistent revenue- the new ABC’s of selling in the 21st century” here: http://bit.ly/aJaDax.


Be the Hero.
Mark
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Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who researched the levels of humankind’s needs as it relates to personal growth. You can read a quick article from a sales perspective at www.mysaleshero.net/MyFriendAbraham.aspx .

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Mark H Daniels is a B2B and B2C sales strategist, coach and copywriter helping people and businesses present themselves in print, in person, and on the web in a way that has prospects and customers making decisions in their favor and saying “thanks.”
Learn more about why companies seek Mark’s services and what My Sales Hero does at http://www.mysaleshero.net/. Contact Mark by email at mark@mysaleshero.net or call 732-417-0680.