Expand Your Customer Base Using Value Selling Methodology

It’s all about demographics, or is it? You know that your sales force has to go out and sell your product or service no matter what. You also know that sometimes they can’t, no matter how hard they try. Why is this? The answer to this frustrating and often-asked question is your sales team isn’t using the right sales methodology. What is the right one? Value selling methodology.

Target Demographic

Selling a product requires more than simply finding out who your target demographic is. This might seem as if this is all you have to do, but it isn’t. Yes, your product or service might be perfect for young men and women, 20 to 35 years old, who are in business for themselves, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. You must show more than just a demographic fit. You must show that your product or service will provide value to the men and women who fit within your marketing research.

In other words, it’s time to rethink demographic. What was once a simple method of isolating your market via census methodology has now turned into "value." It doesn’t matter that your product or service is perfect for Jane Doe, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who has just launched the next great technology firm. If Jane Doe only sees she fits into a cookie-cutter demographic stat, if she cannot see how your product will increase her value, she won’t be interested. In fact, she’ll resent the sales call.

Expressing Value

Rather than your sales team approaching Jane Doe just because she fits within a mold, they must research Jane Doe’s company and determine a value selling methodology. This is the approach they must take when they make the sales call. Your product or service will increase her profit margin by X-number of dollars because it will help her business… how? This is just an example of one approach you might take depending on what you have to offer.

Value doesn’t stop after a successful sales call, however. You must be able to continue to show Jane Doe that your product or service is doing what your sales team said it would. Reports demonstrating how your product or service is delivering value to her company are crucial to maintain your contract and secure renewals. It’s also important to secure valuable word-of-mouth advertising. If you help Jane, she’ll recommend you to her colleagues.

Selling a product or service goes beyond a target demographic. In today’s business climate, you need value selling methodology to seal the deal.

Weston Barnes is a write and an avid reader. When he's not writing about business, marketing, health, pets, or relationships, he's immersed in his latest book.