What does the word ‘Value’ actually mean?
I recently commented on a LinkedIn post from The Daily Sales (definitely worth a follow by the way) that stated “almost 6 in 10 buyers want to discuss pricing on the first call.” I certainly found this eye-opening and part of my input into the discussion, that had already seen over one hundred comments posted, was that in my opinion if a buyer is arrowing in on price from the outset, surely you haven’t demonstrated the ‘Value’ of your product/service well enough?
But this has since got me thinking, what does the word ‘Value’ actually mean and how do we best demonstrate it?
In every walk of life nowadays, it’s becoming seemingly more obvious that “cost is king.” Whether that be in people’s choice of supermarket, utility provider and now more than ever in a Travel Management Company. It seems that the cheaper the goods/service on offer the more likely people are to buy. But if cost really is king, then where does the ‘Value’ fit into the decision-making process, how is it measured and how can you demonstrate it?
Is value based upon a fine balance between the cost and the quality of goods/service that you receive? Is it receiving additional products and services at no extra cost? Is it people and technology going above and beyond anything else that is out there in the market? Or is value actually something entirely different, something that can’t actually be measured and is based solely on people’s opinions?
In my opinion, value is subjective and there is no universal way to measure it. Everybody is different and everybody has different reasons and needs for buying.
Therefore, to be able to demonstrate value to a specific individual or company, you need to know them inside out. You need to know their background, you need to know what makes them tick, you need to know what their reasoning is for buying and most of all you need to know what they find important.
Once you have this information and have this understanding of the person/company in question, you can then begin to demonstrate your value to them and hopefully show that their buying decision should not solely be down to cost.
Disagree? It would be great to know your thoughts!
Preparing athletes for life beyond the game || Athlete care || Empowering businesses to build elite performing teams || Co-Founder - ATA || Co-Host - Athlete Transition Accelerator podcast || Coach & Mentor
5 年Very good mate, agree totally. I think it’s also important to understand their reasons for agreeing terms with the current incumbent, why they said yes. Alongside this, how they have found working with them and what’s worked. More importantly what hasn’t and how it’s affected them as a company, a department and a team. When you have all of the above, you can then position yourself and your product and ‘value’ is demonstrated.