How to sell products and services based on value by qualifying leads and guiding buyer conversations using questions that help buyers visualize the usage and value of your offering in accomplishing their goals. Presented at the Stockholm Value-Pricing Meetup on Nov 1, 2016. www.sthlmvp.com

1. VALUE-BASED
SELLING
Jakob Persson
Leancept
www.leancept.com

2. What selling is
Qualifying prospects
Leading conversations
Following up
Writing quotes

3. What is selling?

4. Post-it time!

5. Selling is:

6. Buying is:

7. Conclusion?

8. 1 out of 9 work in sales or marketing

9. But the remaining 8 out of 9 spend 40% of
their !me on the job moving others
Persuade
Cajole Convince
InfluenceSway
Hook
Assure
Coax
Entice
Induce
Convert Urge

10. “The ability to move others to
exchange what they have for what we
have is crucial to our survival and our
happiness. It has helped our species
evolve, lifted our living standards, and
enhanced our daily lives.”
Daniel Pink in “To Sell is Human”

11. One of the most effective ways of
moving others is to uncover challenges
they may not know they have

12. “The first time we met I
didn’t have any problems. Now I
can’t sleep at night”
Told to a salesperson
by a customer

13. If the person you’re selling to agrees
to buy, will his or her life improve?
When your interaction is over, will
the world be a better place than
when you began

14. Qualifying prospects

15. You can’t sell to everyone,
even if you wanted to.

16. Lead Prospect Deal
“I know someone
who might be
interested in your
product”
DONE DEAL
Long
and
winding
road

17. A prospect is a
qualified lead

18. A qualified lead has
admitted a problem or
expressed a goal

19. Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear
event”
Hired for
experience
Brand name
services
Commodity
products/
services
Price
insensitive
Price
sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVE
VALUE
ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
www.cobb-consulting.com

20. Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear
event”
Hired for
experience
Brand name
services
Commodity
products/
services
Price
insensitive
Price
sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVE
VALUE
ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of
immediately. Price is of little
concern.
www.cobb-consulting.com

21. Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear
event”
Hired for
experience
Brand name
services
Commodity
products/
services
Price
insensitive
Price
sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVE
VALUE
ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of
immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses
the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
www.cobb-consulting.com

22. Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear
event”
Hired for
experience
Brand name
services
Commodity
products/
services
Price
insensitive
Price
sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVE
VALUE
ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of
immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses
the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
20% Important routine work, tends to
go to those with well-established
reputations in a particular area.
www.cobb-consulting.com

23. Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear
event”
Hired for
experience
Brand name
services
Commodity
products/
services
Price
insensitive
Price
sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVE
VALUE
ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of
immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses
the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
20% Important routine work, tends to
go to those with well-established
reputations in a particular area.
www.cobb-consulting.com
60% “Grunt work” that
doesn’t require special
qualifications and can be
provided by any company.

24. Cobb Value Curve
“Nuclear
event”
Hired for
experience
Brand name
services
Commodity
products/
services
Price
insensitive
Price
sensitive
HIGH
LOW
RELATIVE
VALUE
ADDED
VOLUME OF WORK AVAILABLE
0% 20% 40%
4% Needs to be taken care of
immediately. Price is of little
concern.
16% High risk or impact. Chooses
the company perceived as best able
to handle the matter effectively.
20% Important routine work, tends to
go to those with well-established
reputations in a particular area.
www.cobb-consulting.com
60% “Grunt work” that
doesn’t require special
qualifications and can be
provided by any company.
20% of the market is
price insensitive

25. “We’d like to reach
20% higher revenue in this
market over the next six
months”
“We were thinking of
kinda doing some e-
commerce. You do that,
right?”
Lead A
Lead B

26. Your job
Helping the buyer achieve goals, solve
problems or satisfy needs.
If you can’t, walk.

27. What you need to know
to qualify your leads.

28. The buyer’s role, title
and vertical industry
Jane Doe
VP Sales
+098 765 43 21
jane@generic.co
GenericCo.

29. The buyer has shared a
business goal or problem

30. You can solve the problem
and the buyer knows it

31. OK! Your turn!

32. Was it hard? Easy?
Conclusions?

33. Leading conversations

34. A salesperson is a buying
facilitator leading the buyer with
questions that are biased towards
the seller's offering

35. Patience.

36. ‘‘It’s about leading with my ears instead of
my mouth,” Ferlazzo says. ‘‘It means trying
to elicit from people what their goals are for
themselves and having the flexibility to
frame what we do in that context.”
Daniel Pink in “To Sell is Human”

37. Great sellers empower buyers
The buyer wants to feel in
control

38. A “no” is a no.
“Overcoming objections” isn’t a valid
excuse.

39. Who here enjoys
shopping?
Raise hands.

40. “I love buying
but I hate being
sold to.”

41. Demonstrate value
before discussing price

42. Is your service or product perceived as a
commodity?
Sales experience is even more important.

43. Dress the part

44. Endless
lists of
features

45. Discussing features
prematurely is a bad idea
Opens the door for
objections.
“Looks too complicated.
We don’t need X!”
Leads to premature
discussion of price.
“So how much would we
pay if we want X and Y?”

46. If you want to demo
something, make a special
appointment.

47. Ask questions
that are open,
framing or
confirming.
Be patient.
Listen actively
(and take notes if
needed).
Three rules

48. Help the buyer visualize your
product being used to solve a
problem, achieve a goal or
satisfy a need

49. Telling is selling
Asking is
consulting

50. Before meeting
Learn about the buyer’s company
Learn about their competitors
Learn about current challenges in
their vertical industry

51. 2. CONFIRM
AND
PRESCRIBE
Visualize and confirm usage of
product to solve the problem.
Provide information about
price.
Agree on terms and
schedule.
1. ANALYZE
AND
DIAGNOSE
Have the customer admit to a
problem.
Break down feature requests
using 5 WHY’s.
Ask questions to diagnose
the problem and help the
buyer arrive at a solution.
Two steps

52. CLOSED
With better
Y would
your X lead
to better
results?
Helps create a
vision.
FRAMING
How do you
do X today?
Uncovers the
current
situation and
problems.
OPEN
What do
you hope to
accomplish?
Used to
uncover goals
and open a
conversation.
Asking questions

53. “So if I've understood you
correctly you'd like to
accomplish X but Y prevents you
why Z would be a big help?”
Confirm

54. OK! Your turn!

55. You are selling
Video-conferencing products

56. Your buyer is
A business law firm

57. How did it go? Challenging?
Do you see yourself using
it?

58. Following up

59. Write a summary letter to
help them pave the way.

60. Goals
Current situation
Visions
Value
Access to key players

61. Dear Sandra,
Thank you for your interest in ABC. This is a summary of
what we discussed. I understand that your primary goal is
increase the amount of donations received through web
and social media.
[ paraphrase of how the buyer described the cause of the
problem and how much it’s worth to them ]
[ list what the buyer said would help increase the amount
of donations ]
[ list of usage scenarios with your product or service ]
[ suggest next steps ]
I will call you on Thursday, Nov 22 at 09.00 to review this
summary and discuss next steps. If that is not convenient,
please let me know.
I look forward to working with you,
John Doe
Sales
ABC

62. Follow up the letter and
make sure you got it right.

63. The letter accurately summarizes the
conversation
The buyer is willing and able to provide
access to the requested key people
Talking to these people is meaningful
and can lead to more evaluation or close
Confirm

64. Writing quotes

65. RFP’s are almost always
a waste of time

66. Reasons for RFP
Legal requirements such as the public
procurement process
The buyer already has a seller in mind
Buyer company policy

67. The true price of RFP’s
Only 5% of RFP’s are won

68. 60 hours per RFP
÷
5% chance of success
————————
1,200 hours of sales work
per won RFP
Math class

69. Do not respond to an RFP unless the
buyer provides access to a key player

70. We have the information we need
to build the quote

71. The buyer has one or several goals
The buyer can visualize achieving the goals
using your offering
You understand the buyer’s current situation
The buyer can influence and provide a budget
There’s a plan for how your offering will
be delivered.

72. Your cheat sheet
Shoots beams.
Faster than puny “Enterprise”
Onboard bur r joint.
Awesome dresscode!
Trash compactors!
Overpopulation.
Too many Jedi.
Sunsets.
Happiness.
Wants a cleaner
galaxy.
Annihilation :)
Using planet destroyer beam to
blow stuff up!
Death Star!

73. Linking features to goals
Feature Advantage Benefit Goal
Mobile-friendly
responsive website
Better search
engine ranking and
user experience for
all users
More customers can
use the website which
generates more leads
and sales
Increase sales
generated
through website
Blog with content
that matters to
customers
Reach your
audience with
content they need
and want
Improved perception,
sense of authority,
more pricing power
Increase profit by
being able to raise
prices
Visually appealing
gallery featuring
previous projects
Offer proof of
quality of previous
work and
communicate
professionalism
Helps more customers
understand that you’re
a good choice
Take market
shares from
competitors

74. Keep it simple
Max 10 pages

75. Make it visually appealing
Hire a designer if you need

76. Make it visually appealing
Hire a designer if you need

77. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan
Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan
Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing
Table with price options
Pg. 3
Feature - Advantage - Benefit
Summary benefit
FAB table
Pg. 2
Executive summary
Value proposition
Summary
Bullets with benefits
Pg. 1
Buyer name
Buyer company name
Date and valid thru date
Whether it’s a quote or a tender,
Your name
Your company name
Your contact details
Cover

78. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan
Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan
Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing
Table with price options
Pg. 3
Feature - Advantage - Benefit
Summary benefit
FAB table
Pg. 2
Executive summary
Value proposition
Summary
Bullets with benefits
Pg. 1

79. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan
Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan
Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing
Table with price options
Pg. 3
Feature - Advantage - Benefit
Summary benefit
FAB table
Pg. 2

80. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan
Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan
Table with plans and options
Pg. 4
Optioned pricing
Table with price options
Pg. 3

81. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan
Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5
Customer success plan
Table with plans and options
Pg. 4

82. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6
Project plan
Rough plan with dates
Pg. 5

83. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7
Cases and references
A visual overview
Pg. 6

84. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8
Company information and contact
details
Photo, name, email
Pg. 7

85. General terms
Legal fine print
Pg. 8

87. Reading
Buy Buy Buy

88. Twitter: @leancept
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