Feb 24, 2014 By Mark Hunter

4 Steps to Building Value to Close the Sale

in Sales

You want to increase your price and you know the way to do it is by increasing the value the customer sees in your offer. But how do you get there?

Here are four steps you can take now to increase the value your customers see and, in turn, increase your price:

1. Focus on the element of time

Time is not unlimited. Once it’s gone it’s gone. This means it is something that can have a price put on it. Use it to your advantage. Use the element of time and the speed with which you can help a customer overcome a problem as something of value. Frame your proposition by getting the customer to share with you what the benefit to them would be if you could take care of their need sooner rather than later. Creating a sense of urgency is vital to building value in the mind of your customer.

2. Focus solely on the outcome the customer has shared with you

Put aside your ego and your amazing product features. The customer doesn’t care. Keep it simple and keep the discussion focused on no more than two of the customer’s needs. When we try to wrap a solution around a slew of benefits, we wind up watering down how the customer sees things.

3. Play to the emotions of the customer regardless if you’re selling B2B or B2C

We seem to think B2B selling does not involve emotion, but I will argue otherwise. Emotion might be seen in a B2B in a person’s ego or their stature in a company, but it’s still there. Sell to a person’s emotion regardless if you’re selling B2B or B2C.

4. Create an aura of exclusivity in the mind of the customer

Nothing will help you more than allowing the customer to feel what they’re receiving is something nobody else is getting. Yes, it is critical to be transparent with your customer, and that means you do need to customize it. The key is in crafting your sales process to allow you to offer an option that will allow the deal to be customized in the eyes of the customer.

Each of the steps listed above can be used individually or collectively. The fact you have so much flexibility with each item is what makes these 4 steps so powerful. As you prepare your presentation, develop questions that allow you to measure the impact each individual step might have on the customer. This will help you gauge when to use the steps.

The only rule is never attempt to leverage one of the steps until the customer has expressed interest. An example might be a customer remarking during the sales process how they’re in no rush to make a decision. This, of course, means time is not something you can leverage. You at this point merely shift your focus to one of the other steps.

Rarely will you encounter a customer with whom you cannot use at least two of the steps. Usually, you will be able to use at least three. What this means is you increase your ability to not only close more sales, but also to maximize your price even more.

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” is author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price. He is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. He was named one of the Top 50 Influencers in Sales by Top Sales World. To receive a free weekly sales tip and read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also follow him on Twitter, on Facebook and on Linkedin.