Heres another example: The Dartmouth Group, Ltd., has observed that sales reps who call on physicians tend to function as talking brochures, i.e., they give rather than seek information. Probably because they have industry expertise themselves, these doctor reps spend too many minutes of the sales visit telling the doctor why his or her patients will benefit from a new product instead of probing to uncover the doctors needs. Dr. Richard Ruff of Sales Momentum in Scottsdale, Arizona, says, In general, salespeople seem to be able to spend more time with doctors in sales calls when they ask really good questions and keep the doctor involved in the dialogue. Asking good questions enable the reps to identify opportunities for them to create value for the doctors. 9

NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES

Another opportunity to create value for themselves, their companies, and their customers that salespeople miss comes about when new products are introduced or launched. Research has shown that salespeople who focus more on their new product arent as effective as salespeople who focus more on the customers needs.10 Salespeople normally are excited about new products and cant wait to tell their customers all about them. However, there is a danger. As Neil Rackham, the eminent sales researcher says, My research showed not that skepticism was better or that enthusiasm is bad; just that enthusiasm can make the seller focus on products, solutions, and answers, rather than on customer problems, needs, and issues. 11 Salespeople should not let enthusiasm get in the way of focusing on customer concerns.12 This can be very difficult for salespeople in the beginning. If they offer their demonstrations and solutions later in the sales cycle, after they have thoroughly explored their customers needs by asking more good business questions, they are more likely to make a sale.

ACTION POINT

4 Dont let enthusiasm get in the way of creating value. Focus on customer needs by asking lots of really smart questions instead of giving information in order to create value.

SALES TRUTH 11 : Salespeople need to create value, not communicate value.

sales trap 12:

You re Selling Value Versus Price

Have you ever heard any of these comments before?

1. Its hard for us to sell value. Were the high-priced provider.

2. Were the biggest in our industry, so were the leader in price.

3. Customers buy on price now. Were not the lowest-priced player in the market, so we lose a lot more business than we should.

4. Why doesnt the company wake up? Its not the economy, stupid! its the price, stupid!

Every one of these comments is based on the price-value fallacy. The price-value fallacy defines value in the sellers terms, not the customers. These comments are based on the faulty inference that salespeople have to trade off price and value when they really dont. Worse yet, comments 2 and 3 are examples of how salespeople let their companies define the value for customers.

VALUE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Value varies by customer. Companies seem to recognize that some of their salespeople dont generate value for their customers, but these same companies often dont recognize that they may be partly responsible for this when they get their sales force hyped up about value. As the old saying goes, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Similarly, Value is in the eye of the customer.

Perhaps the single biggest challenge for salespeople is to persuade a prospective customer to pay a premium price for the goods or services theyre selling. Most customers will not pay a higher price for a product unless they perceive that the value outweighs the price. Unfortunately, many customers do not see the added value that justifies the price.