We’ve all heard the phrase: “People do business with people they know, like and trust.” It’s been a sales mantra for decades. But lately I’ve been wondering if it still captures the full picture of how buying decisions are made. A colleague and I were talking about trust in the relationship between buyer and seller. He challenged whether trust is …
Under Pressure: Why Price Pushback Isn’t Just a Procurement Problem Buyers are under pressure. From tariff uncertainty through supply chain volatility and budget freezes. And then there’s procurement stepping in earlier, pushing harder, and asking tougher questions. And the pressure the buyer is under doesn’t stay on their side of the table – it lands squarely on yours! Your sales …
Salespeople don’t lose margin because they lack motivation. They lose it because they’re stuck on the wrong side of the Value Challenge. It’s a phrase I’ve used for years — and it sits at the heart of the Value Challenge Framework™. But the value challenge isn’t one single issue. It’s really two challenges, layered together: 🧠 The Strategic Value Challenge …
“We’ve seen this problem before.” No questions. No real curiosity. Many problems look the same. But the same problem can be very different from one customer to another. There was no attempt to understand the problem in this customer’s world, just the assumption that since they’d seen the problem before the solution would be the same. The seller thought he …
What is a Value Proposition? A value proposition is the clearest way to communicate why a customer should choose you over the competition. It’s not just about what you do—it’s about the difference you make. For a value proposition to be effective, it must: ✅ Resonate – Speak directly to your customer’s priorities and pain points. ✅ Differentiate – Show …
And hope, as we know, is not a strategy. Far too many sellers do a decent job talking about their offer, the shiny features, the benefits, the service levels, but completely miss the commercial context their buyer is living in. The risks they’re carrying. The friction they’re tolerating. The money leaking out. Worse, they assume the customer already knows the …
It was a bitterly cold morning at 221B Baker Street when a distressed account executive burst in, his breath visible in the frigid air. “Mr. Holmes, I need your help! My buyer was enthusiastic, engaged, and eager to move forward—and now? Silence. No replies, no updates, nothing! It’s as if they’ve vanished into the fog!” Holmes, who had been studying …
I was reading a psychology book the other, and I started to wonder why it wasn’t written in English. It looked like English. The words were there. But I found myself rereading every sentence two or three times to make sense of it. And even then, I wasn’t sure I understood it. While I was wrestling with the text, it …
What is a Value Proposition? A value proposition is the clearest way to communicate why a customer should choose you over the competition. It’s not just about what you do—it’s about the difference you make. For a value proposition to be effective, it must: ✅ Resonate – Speak directly to your customer’s priorities and pain points. ✅ Differentiate – Show …
When we talk about influencing a customer’s willingness to pay, there’s a step we often overlook—one that’s even more critical: willingness to change. In today’s sales environment, the status quo is often your toughest competitor. Studies suggest that up to 60% of sales opportunities end in no decision. These deals don’t fail because your product isn’t good enough or the …