What will the customer pay for?
The concept of value is central both to selling and to lean methods. But what is it? So, if we’re going to think about applying lean methods to selling, we must first begin with a tight definition.
One excellent definition of value comes from Michael Webb’s excellent book, Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way. Webb tells us that value is,
“…that which the customer will take action to get.”
This definition reminds us that the only person who can define value is the customer. So many product brochures seek to define value by product features, yet with many products, customers use only a small percentage of their features. Sometimes, vendors don’t even know why customers buy their solution. Do you? Do you understand exactly how they employ it in their daily work processes? Do you know how it prevents problems, reduces risk, or improves quality, efficiency and effectiveness? Do you know how they might be able to get more value if they use it differently?
These questions apply at the end-result level, of course: you know the customer accepts your value proposition if they buy your solution. But that’s like saying you know your team won because they outscored the opponent. The real power that this definition has to improve your sales effectiveness comes from applying it at the process level.
