Problem: Shifts in Value

Goliaths don’t need to do a lot of ‘value’ selling.

They have an insane amount of perceived value from many well-known customers.

Getting medical & biblical for a sec. Stick with me:

Did you know that scholars now believe that Goliath had acromegaly?

It’s a rare condition where your body produces too much growth hormone; so your tissue & bones grow more quickly than others.

If you remember the movie ‘The Princess Bride’, Andre the Giant also had acromegaly.

Why does this matter?

Nobody wanted to fight Goliath because of his perceived ability to destroy anyone in front of him.

Yet, his biggest strength (height, weight, size), was also his biggest weakness.

Perceived value holds little weight when you’ve got the perfect stone to sling.

Storytime:

We were in a deal that I didn’t think we could lose.

When it came to the student housing market, my company was the #1 provider in the space.

In a final sync call my prospect told me:

“We don’t think you’ll be flexible enough to fit the way that we run our housing”.

Ouch.

That was the dagger that had me rethinking the way I sell ‘value’.

Solution: Value Selling

Perceived value holds little weight when you’ve got the perfect stone(s) to sling.

Work internally to come up with a list of 5 - 10 high-value aspects of working with you.

In my student deal, the value I lost on was ‘customization to core functionality’, which was an insurmountable hurdle.

Plug these value stones into your process along the way & don’t be shy about them.

Insights & Additional Thoughts

Thought #1 - The #1 false value that reps often pitch is ‘Our People’. These aren’t powerful buying reasons. The Goliath you fight, has bigger budget & has been hiring higher caliber people for a long time.

Thought #2 - Communities - Do you have a community they can plug into, ask questions, get involved in? It’s not feasible for everyone, but communities can be powerful.

Thought #3 - Customer Advisory Board - Can you plug big opps into your customer advisory channel? Gives them a chance to voice their opinion, meet other buyers, & push your org forward.

Thought #4 - Partner Program or Referral Programs - These are great for prospects that are leaning toward buying or have already indicated they will buy. Allows them to become an advocate, while getting monetary benefits.

Thought #5 - Product - This tends to be the last value plug that I use because the product isn’t better, just different. If you have a major difference, ‘customization to core functionality’, then plug away & watch it work. If you choose to use product as a core value, then it has to be true. Cut the fluff. Cut the ‘exploratory’. Whatever it is, it has to be real, or it will crumble.