Know the Different Types of Customer Value | Sales Strategies

Over the past few months, due to travel restrictions, companies have been conducting more and more product training sessions. I’m not opposed to product training, but it’s critical that we don’t pitch product features to our customers. Instead, what we need to do is transition product training into value training.

Tangible Versus Intangible Value

I want you to think about value training in two ways: tangible and intangible value. This is because the value your product brings—the solution it creates—is going to have a tangible and an intangible benefit. 

A tangible value, for example, could be reduced stress, improved employee morale, or increased customer satisfaction. On the other hand, an intangible value, for example, could be a 33 percent return on investment or savings of $15,000.

Personal Versus Corporate Value

We also want you to think about value in terms of personal and corporate. Personal value is the value you bring to the buyer (the individual you’re talking to personally). Conversely, corporate value is the value you bring to the company. These are two different things.

The Forgotten Value

There’s a third type of value that I also want you to keep top of mind, and people often forget about this. Value isn’t just about solving a problem. And as salespeople, that is what we tend to focus on: “Here’s your problem. Here’s my solution.” Instead, also think about the positive side of that. Perhaps they don’t have a problem and are just trying to accomplish something differently—something they can leverage more. 

Transition your product training into value training. This will help you close more business and change the conversation dynamic you are having with your customers.