Sales Hacks: Welcome

 

Monday Sales Hacks

November 7^th, 2022

(three-minute read)

 

Welcome to this first edition of “Monday Sales Hacks”, a weekly journal – más o menos – of tricks and tips aimed at helping you create Value for your Buyers… and hopefully, selling more Bizagi stuff to them.  Some of these hacks might be familiar to you, comfortable like a favorite pair of shoes.  And some of them might seem new or innovative.  But none of them will be original.  That is, they will be proudly stolen – er, I mean borrowed – from some of the best and brightest in the world of professional selling.  After all, there is nothing new under the sun.  So whether they seem old or new, familiar or fresh, we’re confident they will help you lead better selling conversations with your Buyers.

 

For this first one, let’s revisit the Value Equation we discussed in the STAR Session from last week. 

Value results when the Benefits of a decision outweigh its Costs.  This is a deceptively simple formula, but it has profound implications for how you sell.  Let’s unpack the equation by examining the “minuend” and “subtrahend” (remember your primary school maths?).

 

In Selling, Benefits – the minuend – are determined and defined by the Buyers exclusively.  Only Buyers get to decide when something is a benefit to them.  While Sellers can influence their perspective, it is the Buyer’s perspective that rules.  Benefits, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder.  But what about Costs, our subtrahend? 

 

For the past two decades, I have been asking this question of very smart salespeople around the world.  Who owns the Costs side of the equation?  Invariably, salespeople tell me that the Sellers own the definition of costs.  This is reasonable, given that Sellers own the “purchase price” of the solution, and the purchase price certainly forms part of the Costs.  But only part of them.

 

For the Buyers, Costs comprise not only the purchase price, but also a range of other factors, such as training, staffing, business disruption, and a host of other contributing factors.  Moreover, in complex sales, part of the perceived Costs of a decision to change are risks attached to uncertainty and the potential for failure.

 

When including all the factors that comprise “Costs”, the Seller’s purchase price is really only a small component.  So who owns the Costs?  Buyers do, just as they own the Benefits. 

 

If both Benefits and Costs are defined by Buyers, then Value is also defined by Buyers.  Put another way, the Value Equation is owned by the Buyer.  (One of the reasons that the phrase “value added” is so irksome is that it begins from the Seller’s point of view, rather than the Buyer’s POV.)

 

So, here’s the Monday Sales Hack for this week: the Value Equation is entirely Buyer-centric.  If you want to lead better selling conversations with your Buyer, start by being Buyer-centric.  Probably nothing new to see here, but maybe it’s a good reminder.

 

Thanks for reading this Sales Hack.  Happy selling!