4 critical fundamentals to sell on value, not on price.

I recently wrote a blog post on the comparative impact of raising prices or having a team rigorously follow a sales process to increase an organisation's EBITDA. I'll let you read the article - accompanied by a video - but if you don't have the time, in short it's more profitable to have a process rigorously followed by your sales team than to raise prices.

That said, what I've observed is that, for the majority of the companies Curiosity works with, the problem isn't raising their prices. It's maintaining them. All companies want to position themselves as selling high added value, but when ‘the going gets tough’, when the customer becomes a little reluctant - what I call ‘non-believers’ - the sales people who want to position themselves as selling high added value products quickly fall into negotiation and go from one extreme to the other: high added value -> lower prices.

4 key differences

There is a famous expression used when companies are cutting prices for the sake of winning business: race to the bottom. It's a race that, unlike all races, you can't win... But it's a race that's hard not to take part in. So here are four keys to successfully selling value and staying out of the race to the bottom:

1. Selling is a mindset sport, something I call sales DNA. You can't sell value if you're not absolutely convinced of the value you and your company bring. I'd like to stress this. You mustn't think that you bring value. It must be a conviction that is firmly anchored in you. And no limiting thoughts (English version available)...

2. One of the mistakes salespeople make is to explain the value they bring. But it's the prospect who has to articulate the value they would get out of working with you. You can't talk about value and tell prospects how good you and your company are. It has to be your customers who realise this and express it by having conversations that your competitors don't have. If you have to tell prospects how good you are, chances are you're not that good!

3. If a prospect tells you that their buying decision will come down to price, you need to be prepared to remove yourself from the conversation. These are what I call ‘non-believers’. They don't believe in or appreciate the value you bring to the table. Spending time with ‘non-believers’ is a mistake?

4. Finally, none of the above will work if you don't have a robust prospecting approach. You must always be on the hunt and strive to fill the top of the funnel. If you don't have other opportunities to fall back on, it's hard to walk away from a deal.

Image credit: Jonny Baker