How much would you pay?

That’s a great question.  How much we pay is determined by how much value we place on something.

This is my take on value:

Value is measured NOT by how badly you want it, but by what you are willing to give up for it.

The more value we place on something, the more we’ll give up for it.

The problem with value is everyone sees it different. What I value in something may not be what YOU value. This is the challenge for sales people.

Anthony Iannarino, over at The Sales Blog, had a great post yesterday about value creation.  He is spot on. Creating value is a powerful differentiator and at the core to growing revenue.

What makes selling value so hard for sales people?  Knowing what each unique prospect values most. In Anthony’s post, he talks about the value he received by taking a Town Car from the airport.  A comfy ride, a newspaper, and a bottle of water is what Anthony values, but is it what you value? Is it what the woman’s who was sitting next to Anthony on the plane values? Is it what my grandfather would have valued?  (That I can tell you would have been a resounding NO!) 🙂 It’s hard to know what people value in a product.

We all value things differently.  The same product can have five different value propositions for five different customers. Knowing which to lead with is where the sale lives.

Creating value is important. Knowing what your customers value however, is how you make the sale.