Does a Customer Have to Use Your Idea to Find it Valuable?
We have been discussing how to make each sales counter inherently valuable because customers project what their future experience will be based on their current experience. For that reason it’s critical that we add some unexpected value to every sales encounter.
Limitless Value Potential
New ideas represent a limitless area of potential value. And strangely, customers don’t necessarily have to implement your idea in order to find it valuable. It’s a little like getting a gift for someone that you know they want, but they may never use. Despite not using the gift, positive emotion and gratitude is still transferred.
Ideas Are Powerful
Ron Baker, founder of VeraSage Institute and author of Mind Over Matter, says, “Ideas have always and everywhere been more valuable than the physical act of carrying them out. In the arena of business, ideas have an enormous capacity to apply knowledge to knowledge, thereby increasing innovation and wealth.”
To be sure, not every idea you bring will be weighed equally from your prospect’s perspective. Some ideas will be valued more heavily than others. However, there is value inherent in the ideas you bring regardless of whether or not your prospect employs them. Ideally they will see great benefit from the ideas you bring, but it’s not necessary that they use the idea for them to perceive its value. So offer them all the valuable ideas that you can.
Your Experience – A Wellspring of Ideas
Your experiences in implementing your solution will likely far outweigh your prospect’s experience. So most of your thoughts and ideas in this area will be seen as helpful. Share how your other clients have:
- Reduced costs
- Increased revenues
- Garnered additional business
- Saved time
- Managed resources
- Improved a process
- Improved quality/outcomes
- Simplified tasks
- Solved a particular problem/challenge
- Successfully implemented something
- Made their job easier
- Used their existing solution in a new way
- Utilized a service that they had overlooked
I like to think of this area of ideas as “best practices” for your clients. The potential in delivering valuable ideas is virtually immeasurable, so take time to identify what your prospects would find most valuable and build on it. These can be delivered informally and conversationally or compiled into white papers and other useful reports. Tailor them to your prospect’s situation to maximize their perception of value.
Closing Tip: Use your experience to share valuable ideas with clients.
Until next time!
James
