As a former salesperson, I can honestly tell you that there’s nothing more frustrating than having your sales manager ask you to “sell the value.” I’d tell him I lost the deal because our price was $2,000 higher, and he’d immediately jump into his coaching role – which always amounted to three simple words: “Sell the value.” I remember the countless times I’d hear this and roll my eyes, thinking, “If I knew how to sell the value, I wouldn’t be sitting here listening to you tell me to sell the value.”
Ironically, several years later, as a sales manager, I offered that same advice to one of my salespeople. I watched his body language change as I delivered the message and realized he had no idea what I meant. He understood the need to “sell the value” but didn’t know how to do it and couldn’t even define what “value” was.