Buyers Determine Your Value from the Sales Experience

Myths are “partially true evidence” and for the last 100 years the myth was that buyers/customers got their value from products.

Certainly, we can see where the myth started.  Imagine my car runs out of gas I will get value from the product (gas).  Right?

If the gas is the value does the value change if the temperature in minus 10 with 40 miles an hour winds and the gas station is 4.5 miles way vs I can get the same brand of gas two blocks away?

Does the value change again if neither station has a gas can to bring the gas to the car?

Doe the value change if AAA can be at my car with a can of gas in 15 minutes and there is no cost?

The myth is the product (gas) is the value.  That was probably never true but there was a time when we just didn’t have enough information to think about anything but the product or there were not 3 options or even 2 options.  If there are NO options we buy the product available and think the value is in the product, which is partially true evidence.

In the gas story, today we have a smart phone that tells us about the two stations (along with their hours), gives us the numbers so we can call to see if they have a gas can and it has our AAA membership number stored with the 800 number to call.

In this story the smart phone with a long-life battery may be the biggest chunk of value.  Gas was necessary but location, hours, a gas can and willingness to take credit were also big chunks of value.

In more complex situations like buying technology, integration services, financial transactions or a month long international vacation the person who is bringing these options can simply tell us the cost of the trip, provide a URL location for the technology or send a proposal for the integration services.

In those situations, the buyer has the job to decide if these are things they need or want.  The buyer must decide if the seller solves a problem the buyer can afford to solve or if there is a better way (based on what the buyer understands) that costs less.

Based on the way these were presented they must be commodities and very common in the market.  The seller must be a vendor of lots of stuff like this to sell and probably will give a discount or some kind of deal if pressed.

Imagine in these more complex situations the seller took the time to learn about the buyer’s world in relation to the seller’s ability to deliver value.  Imagine if the seller educated the buyer to options, choices, approaches that would substantially improve the buyer’s world (think about the smart phone and the gas) and short-term and long-term.  Imagine the seller was a thought leader that not only supports the buyer today but has options for additional long-term areas the buyer needs to address.

In the first case the seller just told what they do.  That forces the buyer to decide how valuable the seller and their offer is to you.

Now think about the second approach were the seller is teaching, educating, challenging and leading the buyer to various value options for short-term and the long-term.  Where does the buyer receive value in the second offer compared to the first?

Buyers pick up on seller value in the first 5 minutes by things like:

• Who talks the most – the seller or the buyer?
• Whose frame of reference is the conversation from?
• Is the conversation about a product or service or a higher purpose?
• Is the intent of today a transaction or a partnership?

The value a buyer receives and is willing to pay will NEVER be more than what the seller shares in the first 5 minutes.

Learn to use the first 5 minutes to show the buyer compelling value from THEIR frame of reference.