There are so many basics in sales that sometimes get lost in the warp speed world we live in today; creating value in what you are selling falls into that category. However, the issue is different than what might immediately jump into your mind. Most salespeople do a good job of creating value in their products but not enough salespeople create specific value for each customer.

Just because two people buy the same product does not mean they see the same value in that product; on the contrary, they are probably buying that product for two very different reasons. It is up to the salesperson to find what creates the value in a product for each customer, and then sell to that value. The best example that comes to mind is a large screen television; let's take a look. Tom is looking for a new television because he is a movie buff and wants to take advantage of the new technology in order to get the theater experience from his own living room. As a salesperson once you find out why Tom is in the market for a TV, then you can create value. You can point features out such as surround sound, the big screen and any other feature that would enhance movie watching.

Cindy is a huge football fan and is tired of watching the games on her old, standard definition television. It wouldn't make any sense for you to talk to Cindy about the benefits of watching movies, that's won't create value for her. What would create value for her is pointing out features such as it's easier to follow the ball with the high definition.

Both Tom and Cindy might buy the exact same television from you on the same day, but they didn't buy it for the same reasons; but you created specific value for each of them. It's vital to the success of any salesperson to take the time necessary to find out why a customer is interested in buying a certain item. Once you do that, your job becomes a lot easier.

Take the time through a non-business conversation and then into a business conversation to find out what creates value to each of your customers, and then sell to that value. Every customer is different and how you sell to them must be different as well.

FINAO - Brad Huisken