Your Value Proposition Doesn’t Matter | Sales Strategies

In my community, there is a very big named sales trainer who came out during a presentation recently and said, “Your job as a sales rep is to push your value proposition hard and often enough until the customer either buys or walks.”

Of course, there were a few people who were shocked and even offended by this statement, myself included. We know that that does two negative things in your marketplace that creates a lose-lose situation.

First, you never create a value proposition and ram it down your customer’s throat, especially when it contrasts with what the customer values most.

The only value that matters is the value that matters to the customer.

Each and every value proposition that you deliver to the customer has to be tied specifically to the value they need. They need to all be unique and created specifically for that customer.

When you lose that business when the customer inevitably walks away, you lose the opportunity to sell to that customer again. Most of you are in captive markets where everybody in your territory who could be a customer is already a customer. You’re not getting thousands of new customers every day, so you need the ability to walk into your office and still be accepted. If you engage in client repellent behaviors, you lose that right to sell another day and you cut yourself off from potential customers.

Remember, the only value that matters is the value that the customer is looking for. Create unique value propositions specific for the customer and don’t push so hard that you lose the right to fight another day.

3 responses to “Your Value Proposition Doesn’t Matter | Sales Strategies

  1. Great segment – many companies create a value proposition based on what they believe to be their best deliverable, not what their customers need or even want.

  2. When I saw the article title I was prepared to get angry because a well-crafted value statement does matter. I am glad that Colleen provided the details she did because I believe this is the most effective way to develop a value statement – from the customer measure of what is value to them. Well done!

  3. There is indeed a direct link between the analysis phase and the explanatory phase. Salespeople tend to forget or to ignore this reality. Maybe because they don’t have the creativity (or the intelligence?) to formulate sales arguments in relation to the detected needs? Therefore they stick to their story? Whatever the case may be, the point you make is of vital importance. It allows salespeople to distinguish themselves from others and it allows salespeople to anticipate on the protection of their price.

Comments are closed.