What in your life is valuable to you? I think most if not all of us would start to answer that question with our family and friends, and that's the most important thing to most of us. For now, though, let's take that part out of the equation. If we do that, then the word value becomes much harder to define into a neat little box. For example, I have friends who look at their cars as a member of the family. I have other friends who look at their car as just a means of transportation. It's obvious that the former values cars more than the latter. One of your jobs as a salesperson is to find the value for your customers.

Let's stay with the example of a salesperson who is selling cars and look at two customers who need a car, but what they value is different. The first customer is the owner of a construction company and needs a work truck, the value to him is a truck that will haul wood, tools and other supplies. He also may want a cab that is not cloth and is easier to clean because it is going to be a work truck.

Customer number two needs a car that gets good gas mileage because her commute to work is 30 miles one way. Of course, she wants something that she likes but the value to her is in the gas mileage. Because she does drive a fair distance to and from work, she may also need a car that is good in snow and rain. Again, the value to her is a car that will get it to and from work safely and will be cost efficient.

It is up to you, the salesperson, to help every customer determine what they value and/or what they need. This is done through the non-business and business conversations; a salesperson must listen to what their customers are saying and then establish value. Almost everyone has a car, but they all value them for different reasons. Trying to sell a work truck to a young woman who needs a car only for a commute to and from work probably will not work, there's no value there. It's a lot easier to sell after you establish value!