Today Your Product Value Is More Important Than Your Relationships

We are an outsourced sales force for high tech and software companies that want to gain new customers in the German speaking markets. Therefore I’m often asked about how strong my personal business network is in a particular industry or vertical. My answer is always that over the years I did develop some relationships but that is not what makes your product sell on the market. Here’s my point:

Relationship Selling

Conventional sales wisdom is that selling is about relationships and in complex sales, relationships are essential for sales success. Thanks to several economy crises that is simply not the case anymore. Of course, customers still love relationship builders; they are not perceived as sellers. But here is also the issue: Relationship selling today is by far the most ineffective sales technique. You don’t need to believe me, just take a quick look at Figure 2.3 “Core and High Performers by Profile” (Source: CEB, CEB Sales Leadership Council, 2011).

Value Added Selling

This is one of several sales techniques that relies on building on the inherent value of a product or service. Combined with the Challenger Selling Model a seller is focused to push the customer out of their comfort zone in order to teach (add value to his customer’s business), tailor the positioning (right message for the right person) and take overall control of the sale.

While Value Added Selling is focused on customer value, Relationship Selling is more concerned with customer convenience.