Understanding What Matters Most to Your Prospects
Read Time: 4-5 minutes
As revenue leaders at technology and SaaS companies, you've probably heard the term "value" thrown around a lot during sales meetings.
"We deliver so much value", "Our product provides value here and there", and so on.
However, despite being one of the most overused terms in B2B sales, "value" is also one of the most misunderstood. To truly deliver value to your prospects, you need to understand what matters most to them.
What Does 'Value' Really Mean in B2B SaaS Sales?
In its simplest form, value is about worth, and worth is relative. In order for you to understand if you can deliver value to the prospect in front of you, you need to understand what's important to them. The importance we place on something is how we start to evaluate its worth. What's worth it to one person or one prospect may not be worth it to another prospect.
Before you start boasting about how much value you can offer, take a step back and find out what's important to your prospects.
Identify Prospect Pain Points and Goals in B2B Sales
What are their pain points? What are they trying to achieve? What are their goals?
Only by understanding these things can you truly deliver value that's relevant to them.
For instance, let's say you're selling a software product that helps businesses automate their workflows. You might think that the value you provide is in streamlining processes, saving time, and reducing errors. But if your prospect's main pain point is compliance, and they're struggling to meet the necessary regulations, your product's value proposition should focus on how it can help them stay compliant and avoid penalties. The secondary value will come from the streamlining - make sense?
Tailoring Your Value Proposition to Each B2B Prospect
In other words, the value you deliver needs to be personalised to each prospect. By understanding what's important to them, you can tailor your message and focus on the benefits that matter most to them.
The Importance of Personalisation in SaaS Sales
So, the next time you're in a sales meeting, don't just throw around the term "value" without truly understanding what it means for your prospect. Take the time to learn about their pain points, goals, and priorities. By doing so, you'll be better equipped to deliver value that resonates with them and ultimately close more deals.
Want to make immediate changes to your sales engagements?
Here are a few factors to consider weaving into your B2B discovery interactions:
Time to Setup
If your product or service takes a long time to set up, it could reduce the perceived value for your prospect. They might see it as a significant investment of time and resources, which can make it difficult to justify the cost.
Time to First Tangible Return
If your prospect can see a benefit quickly after implementing your product or service, they're more likely to see the value in it. Pro tip: get the Prospect to define what a tangible return would look like. Conversely, if it takes a long time to see any tangible results, they may be hesitant to invest in it.
Effort Required for Application and Change Management
Your prospect may be hesitant to invest in a product or service that requires a lot of effort on their part to implement and manage. Think about the ways you can reduce the perceived effort required.
Resources Required to Implement, Set Up, and Manage
The resources required to implement, set up, and manage your product or service is another aspect that affects value. If your prospect needs to allocate a significant amount of resources to implement and manage your product, they may see it as too much of a burden and may be less likely to invest in it.
Monetary Investment
Finally, the monetary investment required for your product or service is an obvious factor that affects value. In fact, we spend most of our time trying to manage this value element, sometimes to our own detriment. However, If the cost of your product or service is too high, it may reduce the perceived value for your prospect.
Start by understanding what matters most to them. I can’t stress the significance of this. What are their pain points? What are they trying to achieve? What are their frustrations, bottlenecks? Once you understand these things, you can tailor your message to focus on the benefits that matter most to them.
Personalising your value proposition to each prospect may take more effort, but it can pay off in the long run. By showing that you understand their specific needs and pain points, you build trust and credibility, which can ultimately lead to a stronger relationship and more sales.
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