Want to sell on value instead of price? Sell to the C-level!

One of the most challenging activities for salespeople is getting appointments with C-level managers. At this level, managers are tough to approach and won't quickly agree on a meeting.

The question then arises, why would you try to get an appointment at this level. You can easier call and get an appointment with a professional buyer within the prospective organisation and try to sell.

Well, there is an excellent reason why you should consider trying: selling to C-level managers is often more sustainable because their decision-making process is different to those of professional buyers.

Why? Let's look at the differences between C-level and professional buyers.

The differences are more straightforward than we might think.

C-level managers usually make decisions based on other criteria than those of most professional buyers within organisations.

At C-level, managers often look at the following aspects:

The organisational strategy, long-term effects of the purchase, company objectives to be met, growth perspectives, competition, and the purchase fit with workers, users, influencers, etc.

At the level of professional buyers, price plays a critical role next to quality. The average buyer might have less insight into what the C-level might find important. But they are very good at negotiating price!

So, when the salesperson establishes a good understanding with the managing director or Vice President, it makes it easier to sell them on value. Afterwards, if you have to deal with procurement or purchasing, chances are, you might have a stakeholder at the top who is aware of the value you are selling.

I'll share some examples here to clarify:

1. If you are selling cybersecurity solutions, your conversation with the IT person would be about technicalities and price. With the company's CEO, your discussion would be about the risk of data leakage and its impact on public image. Guess what impact you will have.

2. Supposing you are selling healthcare products to a healthcare organisation. If you are dealing with the procurement or purchasing department, chances are their focus would be on quality and price. If you were talking to the Managing Director, you might be talking about patient's care and the impact on their convenience. If you ask the right questions, you could also focus on the working conditions of nurses and how the use of your products could impact this.

3. In a situation where you sell a diversity of (non) alcoholic beverages to restaurants chains, you would be discussing taste, assortments and type of guests. With C-level managers, you could help them grow their business, looking at strategies, customer retention, attracting new guests, etc.

In all three examples above, when talking to C-level, the long term effects and value of your offering would impact your chances for success and "stick" much better! In the end, you could end up creating a customer for life!

To become the C-level manager's most trusted advisor, you need to develop skills and mindsets that will help you discuss at the C-level. Here are some recommendations:

• Change your focus from products to solutions.

• Understand what is essential for top managers.

• Research your prospect and get under their skin and in their shoes.

• Ask (open-ended) questions conversationally and listen with your ears, nose, mouth and skin.

• Have a sales process in place and use it.

• Last advice: do not manipulate, but understand, react and offer the best solution!

Are you ready to approach managers at C-level and sell value? Would you like to know more about how to develop your sales capabilities? Contact me here or call me at +31 (0)642713033. I'm happy to assist!

P.s. in one of my next postings, I’ll tell more about how to reach C-level managers and get the appointment.

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Your salesperson tells you: "my prospect finds us too expensive". How do you react to that?

Every sales or business leader experiences this: their salespeople telling them that their offering is too expensive.

As long as I have been a sales consultant, I have heard salespeople complaining about their product/service being considered too expensive. There are different reasons why prospective customers can find you too expensive. Sometimes lack of funds can be the reason, but often it has to do with not realising that what you have to offer them will satisfy their need. Lack of insights into how to sell value by the salesperson plays an even more critical role.

For people to buy from you, there must be a need. This need can be dormant, which means the demand is there, but they are not actively aware of this need. Or, there is an operational need, but they need to make a choice.

Let's take a closer look at how to avoid getting swamped into price discussions.

1. Preparation: Before the call, research the prospect, market, and what they offer to their customers.

2. Know your product, including your value proposition, features, benefits, and value for the customer.

3. Prepare your conversation, which means having a script in place which should sound natural. Your story should include your introduction, followed by the prospect telling you about their business and followed through by you asking questions. Your questions should be in a conversational way where you avoid behaving like a detective.

4. Above all, pay attention to how you start a sales call with a prospect. The first minutes of the call are crucial for the whole conversation. Your introduction and the way you lead the discussion depends on these first minutes. Either the prospect accepts that you take the lead, or they take it!

Price can be crucial, depending on the value that the buyer sees in your offering. The reality is that professional buyers know that using price is an excellent instrument to put pressure on the salesperson and get the best deal. Quite often, they bring up "price" at the beginning of the sales conversation. And quite often, salespeople tumble right into this trap.

Be aware that a sales conversation with a professional buyer will be different from a C-level manager's call.

Conversations with professional buyers usually focus on price. Still, if you can stay away from price and focus on their deep needs, you will sell on value.

Conversations with C-level managers or VP's are more focused on strategy, shareholders value, the organisation's well-being, future development and much more.

Take care that you discover at least three compelling reasons why they would want to buy what you are offering.

Receptive listening plays an important role here. Sometimes salespeople ignore critical remarks, which can be essential.

I'll give you an example: the prospect just reacted to a feature of your offering with, "this is interesting". Most salespeople would say "thank you" and continue. Wrong! Try the following by asking: "why do you find it interesting" "where does it fit your expectations", "how would it solve the issues you have", any many more questions you can ask.

You will add a new dimension to your sales conversations regarding "price" by trying the above-mentioned approaches.

Contact me here, if you want to know more about increasing sales performance and more profitable margins. Call me at +31 0642713033.