285: A Different Value Based Selling

<p>I was contacted by an international training organisation about facilitating training for their clients here in Japan.  They solemnly announced they do “value based” selling.  Well I think all good salespeople do value based selling, so I checked out their website to see what they meant when throwing this type of terminology around.  As I suspected, it was another one of those persistent re-inventions of something old, but cunningly repacked to appear shiny and new.  Basically, they find out what the client needs and then supply it.  Wow, why didn’t I think of that?</p> <p> </p> <p>It led me to think about values in selling, rather than value delivery in the sales process.  When we meet salespeople, we are going to be impressed by a number of superficial elements.  The way they dress and carry themselves are the first indicators we look at.  It takes a while to get to know someone, but you can spot a slob very quickly and have severe doubts about any of their claims to be a quality organisation. </p> <p> </p> <p>If they drive a luxury car and are well dressed, with the watch, pen, suit and shoes all obviously expensive, we take these as visual indicators of success.  They must be good at what they do, because enough other people are giving them their business, that they can afford such high quality items.  It is the same psychology of the crowd waiting to get into the restaurant.  It is a clue that the food must be good, because experienced, in the know people are lined up trying to get in.  We follow the crowd sourced feedback when making our decisions.</p> <p> </p> <p>When we talk with these salespeople, they know their line-up of products.  They can answer in depth and with accuracy.  They don’t need to tell us “let me get back to you on that“, because they have the knowledge at their fingertips.  They are articulate, concise and considered in what they say.  They allow us to do most of the talking, rather than trying to railroad us into a buying decision or by trying to overpower us with their ambition to