ARTICLES

The term "value-added selling" has been bantered about in our industry for a number of years by sales training gurus of all stripes and sizes, but where most of them fail is in describing just exactly what "value-added" is all about. They constantly tell us to add value to our sales presentations, but don’t ever tell us how to do it. In selling building materials to a contractor/builder, as in selling products installed to either that same builder or a homeowner, you cannot hope to generate any substantial margins without adding value to your products. Without adding value to your offering, you are forcing yourself to compete in a commodity market where margins are slim and profits a thing of fantasy.

Selling value-added isn’t a black art or science at all, it’s simply a matter of properly qualifying your customer and quantifying your services, based on the expressed needs of your customer. And therein lies the key: qualifying your customers and meeting or exceeding their needs with your offerings. (Qualifying: Now, there’s another ambiguous term that many of the salespeople in our industry don’t fully understand.)

Thoroughly and properly qualifying your customer is far more than just getting the company/individual names, sizes of product, how many, and when they want it delivered. These are simply commodity questions that can be answered by, and solutions provided by, anyone in the industry—you, your competition or a provider on the Internet. Qualifying your customer means taking the time to identify those prime buying motives that drive the sale—those core issues that dictate to your customer that now is the time to make a decision and that the value points that they have established are clearly defined and worth investing in.

What’s this: value points, prime buying motives? What are these terms and where do they come from? And another thing, what’s this got to do with installed sales?

Here’s what it has to do with installed sales: You absolutely must find some way—some sustainable way—to differentiate yourself, your company and your products from the competition in order to succeed and maximize profits. You have to raise the customer’s perception of the value of your services in order to generate the kind of margins that are attainable in selling your products installed. This means that you must ask the kind of questions that will prompt your customers—be they homeowners looking for a new kitchen or a builder wanting windows installed—to reveal those points of business that they hold dear and are willing to pay for.

What kinds of questions? Questions with a purpose. Questions that are layered one upon the other in order to delve deeper into the primary buying motivation that all buyers have. Questions concerning the customers’ position: What specific problems need to be solved; what opportunities can you and they capitalize on? Company issues such as: how can they win; how can they save or make money with your service; how can you help them become more competitive? Personal issues like how will they win personally; what are their objectives in this project; and what is their prevailing attitude toward it/ How about money issues: what is the budget for the project—and if it’s not enough, what justification can be used to increase the budget?

Then you have your position to consider: Who is the competition; what does your customer like or dislike about them; and are you ahead or behind in the process? Time frame and the level of urgency also are necessary information. How about buying influences: Who will make the final decision, who will impact the decision, and who all is affected by it?

After you have all this information, you will be able to present a very concise proposal that addresses the primary buying motive of your customer, and will also be able to differentiate yourself, your company and your products from the competition.

You see, anyone can put together a group of products and offer an attractive price to a customer. But a true sales professional who is dedicated to offering exemplary service to his or her customer through installation services will take the time to thoroughly qualify their customer’s needs, quantify the services and products being offered, and present a proposal for a project that is specifically tailored to that customer. That’s the difference between being a sales professional and a product peddler!