3 Skills You Absolutely Need to Win Over More Buyers

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Selling is always easier when you adjust the sales conversation based on what your buyer needs.

Audible-ready sellers excel at actively moving conversations forward by articulating value and differentiation in a way that ties their solutions to their buyers' most pressing business issues.

Communicating your value and differentiation effectively requires a shift in mindset, an understanding that you aren’t providing solely product features. You’re providing value that helps your customers achieve positive business outcomes that have bottom-line impact.

One of the critical components to an effective sales message is aligning the way you sell with the way the customers want to buy. Think about the last major purchasing decision you made (e.g., buying a car or a house).

How did you come to your final decision?

How are you articulating your value and differentiation during these three buying stages?

As a seller, you need to have a solid grasp on what you should be saying throughout the customer’s buying process and your sales process. Your ultimate goal is to lead customers to see the value of your solution over other options they may be considering.

People typically don’t like to be persuaded. Your potential customers don’t want to be told why they should buy your product or service. The more you try to persuade them to buy, the more they will resist you. However, the more they understand how your value and differentiation solves their problems, the more they will persuade themselves that you have the right solution for them.

Customers are willing to be led, but only if you can take them to a place they can’t get to on their own. The ultimate goal is to lead customers from their needs to your highly differentiated solutions. We call that having command of your message. 

Here are three ways to make sure you have command of your message in every sales conversation:

1. Uncover Customer Needs

The foundation to selling on value is the ability to discern what the customer really needs.

This is crucial to (1) building a relationship with your prospect and (2) quantifying the prospect’s pain points and business objectives.

You can’t uncover customer needs without listening. People want to be heard, and they want to be understood. The only way to show that you understand your potential buyer’s business problems is to ask great discovery questions and listen for the answers. 

2. Articulate Value 

Relying on features and functions in your sales conversation often has the unintended effect of making your product sound expensive, and more than the customer needs. 

Successful sellers articulate value in a way that demonstrates how they can solve their customer’s key business issues. Articulating and demonstrating value makes it much easier to preserve margins in the final stages of an opportunity.

3. Demonstrate Differentiation

Best-in-class sellers know how to effectively articulate differentiation in a way that builds a connection back to the positive business outcomes their customers are trying to achieve.

Having a solid grasp of how your products, services and even your company are different and better than the competition creates the opportunity for you to show your buyers the value they can create with your solutions.

Photo Credit

Rachel Clapp Miller is the Assistant Marketing Director at Force Management. Force Management specializes in sales transformations that help B2B sales organizations increase revenue, improve sales margins and gain market share. Follow them on Twitter: @ForceMGMT and on LinkedIn.