Most people feel irked when talking to sales reps. In fact, sales leaders probably get annoyed when they have to deal with a "salesy" pitch. This is because most SDRs use pushy tactics, i.e., bombarding prospects with emails and messages to pressure them into buying, and when it doesn't work, they say, "Outbound is dead." The reality is that nobody wants to feel like they are being compelled to do something.

Enter value-based selling, where the customer is always at the forefront of the process. Value-based selling is an effective way to build trust and achieve sales with modern customers. It is one of the best strategies sales professionals can adopt to stand out in an oversaturated industry.

In this article, we'll discuss value-based selling, the different types of value-based selling frameworks, and how your team can make the most out of their value-based selling tactics.

What is Value-based Selling? 

Value-based selling highlights the measurable business values your service or product can benefit your customer. The core principle of this practice is to think of your prospect's problems before thinking of your revenues. The goal is to focus on the customer's requirements to help them decide based on their requirements and the potential value they will get from your product or service.

This tactic shifts the focus during the sales pitch from how to close the sale to how to benefit the customer. In this approach, sales professionals aim to demonstrate the product or service's value to the customer. The value-based selling strategy eliminates unnecessary pressure and assertive tactics through the sales cycle and interactions, facilitating positive long-term relationships with the client.‍

"The key to value selling is how the sales rep engages the prospect and facilitates a positive answer to the question 'is it worth it?', not just profess the value proposition' - Julie Thomas, President and CEO of Valueselling Associates

Why Should Value-based Selling be a Core Part of your B2B Sales Strategy?

Customers are the prime driving force of any business, and any practice that appeases your customers will benefit your business's success. Value-based selling is a win-win for prospects and the sales team in the following ways:

Reduces Closing Time

A good sales rep should strive hard to showcase the value in the shortest time. Value-based selling can reduce the time taken to close deals, as the customers can see the immediate benefits that your product can bring them. In a way, value-based selling changes customers' mindsets, further reducing the closing time for sales.

Increases Revenue

Value-based selling engages and impresses the prospects, shifting their attention from the product's price to the benefits they would get. If they think your product is indispensable to their business, they are ready to buy even at higher prices, which is ultimately profitable for your business. This gives you an advantage where you can charge more for your product and scale your profits.

Improves Customer Relationships 

Building meaningful relationships is a core part of the job description in sales. Adopting a value-based selling approach allows you to have genuine interactions with your prospects and a deeper understanding of their pain points. When you sell the value instead of the product, it proves that you care about their perspective instead of simply making a sale.

Enhances Sales Team Morale

Sales professionals find increased job satisfaction through contributing to customer success. Value-based selling method offers a great deal of flexibility to sales professionals. Every client comes with their own goals and challenges to the conversation. Sometimes, even the most similar concerns of clients may ultimately yield different sales processes. 

An effective value-based selling technique will allow your sales team to use their skills technically and efficiently. Doing so will further enhance the team spirit and the sales reps' morale.  

Higher Conversion Rates

Value-based selling steers you closer to your customers, where you spend more time interacting with them to understand their needs and how to meet them. With value-based selling practices, your customers will be highly eager to purchase your product, increasing conversion rates and converting as many leads as possible.

Build Customer Loyalty

Studies show that 43% of customers are prepared to pay more for the businesses they are loyal to. By implementing value-based selling, you're conveying that your business is interested in more than just making sales. It shows that your product or service is more focused on resolving the various pain points of your customers. Hence, customers will have a sense of loyalty toward your business.  

8 Elements of a Value-Based Selling Framework 

Here are the core elements of value-based selling:

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Customer-Centric Approach

Have you ever encountered someone who wants to connect with you on LinkedIn using a generic sales template, and you ended up rolling your eyes and blocking them? That's what it feels like to your customers when you send them a generic proposal. Focus on understanding and addressing the specific needs of each consumer. Buyers often overlook businesses that use generic sales pitches, wanting a personalized sales experience. 

Conduct Thorough Research

Value-based selling emphasizes placing the prospect's requirements first to make a sale. This requires sales professionals to have a profound understanding of their customer's requirements.

Conducting thorough research is crucial in learning about the prospect's needs. Some standard information to look for before a sales meeting with your customer includes:

• Information about their business and specific vertical
• A clear history or background check on the company
• Any existing challenges they are facing
• Current and long-term goals
• Connections you can use to ask for a referral
• Whether they're first-time buyers or looking to replace their existing solution
  
  

Sales professionals can gather the needed information by deeply researching the prospect to provide valuable service to their clients. While manually researching every detail can get time-consuming, they can also use AI to automate the process in the following ways:

• Scrape the web for details such as job profile, email address, and other company-related information
• ML algorithms to detect and score buyer intent to assess whether you are targeting the right prospect
• Analyze their social media presence and monitor likes, comments, and posts.
  

Active Listening

Value-based selling means removing aggressive sales tactics from the equation. Instead, sales professionals should maintain a conversational, personable tone while engaging with their prospects. Being approachable is the best way to achieve that goal, and it also shows that you have a genuine curiosity in listening and learning about them.

Start by asking questions about their goals and needs while maintaining an informal tone. Try building trust with the prospect through natural discussion that prioritizes listening before you start offering solutions.

Value Communication

Clearly articulate the unique benefits and outcomes the product or service can deliver. The value-based selling approach is about demonstrating the value of the product or service as it relates explicitly to the prospect. The main goal of a sales rep should be showing the client that their product is the best solution for their organization.

For this method to work, the sales reps must articulate their understanding of the customer's requirements, as well as the benefits of the product that will address their specific requirements. Price is a primary factor for many buyers who want to know why a product is worth the expense. A few ways to demonstrate value include:

• Using real-world examples via case studies,
• Describing any training or support that comes with the product
• Outlining the growth or changes in the product as the business grows over time
• Aligning the pitch with the most pressing requirements of the customer
  

ROI Demonstration 

Quantify the return on investment to showcase the tangible value of the solution. Though value-based selling is a significant shift for many sales organizations, focusing on value instead of benefits, features, and price creates a strong perception of your service or product. This can help you support your product's worth without the temptation of offering a discount.

Consider comparing with a differentiator, where you can contend that the other less expensive and similar products aren't even in your league. Moreover, proving your value gives buyers the confidence to purchase your service or product without a discount.

Collaborative Problem-Solving

Position as a partner and work collaboratively to solve the customer's challenges. When taking a value-based selling approach, your role as a sales professional is to help your prospect make an informed purchasing decision. You can help your prospect tackle their problem statement by sharing fresh ideas and strategies rather than simply telling them what to do.

Take a collaborative problem-solving approach where you help your prospect maintain their position as a first-hand decision-maker before buying the product, along with your genuine feedback honestly and helpfully.

Continuous Improvement

Constantly adapt and refine the approach based on customer feedback and data-driven insights. If your business wants to take the value-based selling approach, your sales reps must roll up their sleeves and be prepared to offer consistent value to prospects over time. They must constantly adapt a refined technique to demonstrate value by showcasing how the prospect can improve their bottom line using your product or service.

Customers are always keen to provide feedback; they only need someone to listen. For effective value-based selling, you must train your sales reps to ask the right questions and pay attention to customer feedback and demands. With continuous improvement, you must outdo your competitors and prove how different you are from them to build a distinct identity for your business and win over the clients. This will help create long-term relationships between you and the client.

Clear Differentiation

Prosperous businesses create a distinct name for themselves amidst competition in some way, shape, or form. Taking a differentiation-oriented approach while value-based selling is one of the most beneficial ways to create a niche. 

You should demonstrate what your offering can do to enhance your prospect's most compelling and unique business aspects. You'll set yourself up for a fruitful value-based selling effort if you can prove that your service or product supports your customers' business identity within the competitive landscape of their industry peers. You must stand out from competitors by consistently highlighting the distinct value proposition.

Another way to rise above the pack is by offering a holistic customer experience. You can build a meaningful relationship with your prospect to truly gauge what they are looking for and offer a tailored solution for their needs. You can do this by showcasing interactive product demos or offering a free trial. Follow up and ask for feedback to prove that you value their opinion. 

How Do AI Robots Help with Value-Based Selling

Sales intelligence tools have certainly made lives easier for frenzied sales teams looking for qualified buyers. However, AI Robots take it one step further. Here are a few ways you can use an AI robot in your value-based selling strategy:

Enhanced Personalization and Intent-level Data 

Most sales platforms offer personalization as their main USP, but it only ends at personalizing the subject line in cold emails. AI robots are designed to crawl the web 24/7 and get information from all the relevant websites. This will give you a holistic view of your ICP beyond their demographic, company size, and funding. 

Plena can pull authentic data from 12+ sources where you can learn everything from buyer intent to their social media presence. Plus, Plena GPT can automate the end-to-end process of personalizing your pitch with images and gifs so you can focus on building meaningful relationships with your prospects. 

Prospecting Made Easy 

Prospecting is one of the most challenging aspects of sales because you can find 20 qualified buyers but still only close one deal. 90 percent of companies feel the need to use two or more lead enrichment tools to gather information about new leads and automate sales prospecting. Luckily, AI robots eliminate this hassle.

Once a sales rep enters their criteria, AI robots help find the ideal profiles and initiate a nurture sequence after cross-verifying the data across numerous sources online. With our prospector feature, you can test campaigns, audiences, connection request notes, and message templates in multiple campaigns to continue growing the lead volume.

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Wrapping Up

As you can see, value-based selling is more about building relationships with your prospects and resolving their pain points rather than pushing your product or service. It also helps you learn your customers' real needs and provide them with a tailored solution instead of a copy-pasted pitch. With this approach, you can build trust with your targeted prospects and boost the chances of winning more deals.

If you're crafting a value-based selling strategy, Plena is the trusty sidekick you can count on. Book a demo today to find out how AI Robots can simplify selling for you.