What a Three-Year Old Knows About Selling

In my last newsletter I explored ‘Why be a Value-Focused Seller?’ And today I want to dive into what value-focused selling is...with help from a three-year old.

Before that though I should just clarify: is ‘value-focused’ the same as ‘value-based’? Yes it is, and I coined the term simply to give myself freedom to define it how I like and avoid semantic arguments about what is or isn’t value-based selling!

And what better place to start than with first principles.

First Principles of Value in Selling

1.???Value is what Buyers receive. You cannot give, propose, create, add or any other ‘do’ value thing..

2.???Value is whatever Buyers think it is.

3.???Value is a Buyer perception. At least, that is how us value-focused Sellers think of it. Now stay with me here:

To Buyers, value is a future state. It is how they want to feel after they have bought something.

And so, pre-sale, it is not reality. It is not a thing. If you don’t believe that, please leave a comment and I’ll respond to it!

And of course, that is also true for 'tangible' value like ROI. It isn't real either until (and if) Buyers receive it i.e., after the sale.

That very intangibility is why value-focused selling works.

Here’s the thing. Buyers don’t buy what they need, they buy what they want (value), which is an outcome, a desired future state. Their needs are simply inputs that they believe will enable them to achieve that outcome.

You’ve no doubt heard the one about the guy that needed a drill, but what he really wanted was a hole in the wall?

Sellers have traditionally focused on drills (things with features and benefits) when the value Buyers want is holes in the wall.

The key to winning their business then is to enable them to make better holes.

Value-focused selling is about focusing on holes not drills...or for that matter, sanding, buffing, grinding, or whatever it is they think they need a 'drill' for.

Focusing on value (outcomes) will give you a deeper insight into why they are buying and ultimately what they will buy and thus what you should offer. You don’t get that from needs discovery.

First Principles in Action

Here is a simple and slightly whimsical example that makes those First Principles, well, more tangible:

Your three-year old toddles over to you and hands you the stick figure drawing she’s been diligently working on, saying ‘mummy and daddy’. What is the value of that to you?

Inestimable. You will proudly stick it on your fridge.

And the value to someone like me? Call me harsh, but meh.

So what just happened?

?? First Principle: your child ‘gave’ you a drawing and you ‘received’ value.

??Second Principle: it is value because you believe it is.

??Third Principle: you perceived value. The perception/feeling of being loved and you get that every time you look at the drawing. The drawing was not the value, it was merely the vehicle that made love (value) tangible.

?Get it?

?More examples:

• Value isn’t the suit you just bought on sale (it is merely the vehicle), it is how you feel every time you wear it.
• Value isn't the new office you’ve just moved into (it is merely the vehicle), it is the way your people engage in their new space, their increased productivity, the admiring looks of customers and so on.

Value-focused Sellers enable Buyers to have those feelings before they buy.

And in future articles I will delve into exactly how you can do that. Suffice to say, your regular PowerPoint and demo is not it! It is about creating an experience.

I’ll give you a taste of that now.

Let me tell you a story...

It tells of two real-life buying experiences that I had as Buyer. They were just a few minutes apart. One was with a regular Seller, the other with a value-focused Seller, not that he knew that’s what he was.

They are B2C examples, although quite representative of what happens in B2B.

I wanted a new TV and so I researched online, as you do, and found a model that fitted my needs. I did some price comparisons, established what I wanted to pay and a few days later, visited a retailer.

?A Seller walked up to me and said…

‘Can I help you?’

‘I'd like to buy a TV.’

‘Do you have a TV in mind?’?

‘Yes, I do; it's a Sony ...’

‘Ah, yes, what price have you been quoted?’?

‘Well, you tell me your price.’

The Seller left to consult his computer and came back.

‘I can do the Sony … for $X.’?

‘Well, you need to beat $Y.’

‘Sorry, I can't do that. My best price is $Z.’

?‘OK, thanks. I'll think about it,’ and I walked out of the store.

I am sure you have experienced similar interactions.?

Now, as it happened, just two doors down was a specialist audio-visual retailer. It looked up-market (read expensive) and not the type of place I’d typically go to for the best price on a TV. Nevertheless, no harm I thought in just looking, and I walked in.

The Seller approached me and said…

‘Good morning. I’m John. How's your day going?’?

‘Hi, I’m Patrick. Well, thanks. How's yours?’

‘I'm having a great day. How can I help you, Patrick?’?

‘I'm looking at buying a TV.’

‘Why do you want a TV?’ (Watch now how this shifts the conversation.)?

‘Huh?? Well, to watch stuff!’

‘Yes, of course. What things do you like to watch though?’?

‘News, sport, documentaries …’

And that’s how the conversation continued, with the Seller asking:

‘What type of sport?’ (Speed of movement impacts screen refresh).

'Football'

So, fast moving?

‘How far will you sit from your TV?’ (Screen size.)

‘How many people usually watch at the same time?’ (Viewing angle.)

And so on...

You will have guessed by now that comments in parenthesis illustrate insights the Seller was gaining. He wasn’t simply enquiring about what I needed in a TV. And I have paraphrased.

He wanted to help both of us understand the experience I wanted of using the TV.?

And it worked. We were soon on the same page and eventually arrived at a TV speci?cation that suited me. He then showed me a model that ?tted that, and, of course, I bought it. And no, it wasn’t the TV I had originally intended to buy!

I had not met the Seller before, and I doubt he saw himself as a value-focused or any other type of Seller. He was simply intent on being of value to me, as demonstrated by his lack of self-interest, and so I quickly came to trust him.

Did you notice that the Seller’s ?rst question was ‘why?’ Arguably the most powerful question in a Value-focused Seller’s arsenal and I will be covering it in a later edition.?

In wanting to understand what I valued, the Seller challenged me to ensure I knew my own mind. He genuinely cared that I thought through the experience I wanted from a TV. Ultimately:

The Seller helped me buy my TV, he didn’t try to sell me his TV

...and that is value-focused selling!