The problem
with price.
Most B2B sales teams are losing margin every day — not because of poor products, but because they cannot articulate the commercial value of what they sell. Here is why that happens, and what the Seven Challenges of Value reveal about it.
The cost of a weak value proposition is measured in your margin.
Most B2B sales teams do not have a selling problem. They have a value communication problem. They rely on product features instead of commercial outcomes. The result is entirely predictable — and entirely avoidable.
Discounting to close
Your team is giving away margin because price has become the only lever left. That is not a pricing problem — it is a value communication failure.
Stalled pipelines
Deals sit in 'no decision' for months because the commercial urgency was never established. Buyers who cannot see the cost of inaction will always delay.
Commoditisation
Your solution looks identical to the competition in the buyer's eyes. Not because it is — but because your team is pitching features instead of outcomes.
Losing to inferior competitors
You know you have the better solution. Yet you keep losing to cheaper alternatives. The problem is not your product. It is how your team communicates its value.
"If your team is discounting to close, they are not failing at negotiation. They are failing at value communication — and that is a structural problem, not a skills gap."
— Mike Wilkinson, Axia Value
The Seven Challenges of Value: a connected commercial system.
The Seven Challenges of Value are not seven isolated problems. They form a connected commercial system. Miss one, and your ability to understand, communicate, and deliver outstanding value — and get paid for it — is seriously compromised.
Pricing pressure rarely begins at the pricing stage. It begins when value is misunderstood, assumed, misdirected, diluted, or left undelivered. By the time price is discussed, willingness to pay has already been shaped.
Understand Value
Most teams believe they understand their value. What they actually understand is their capability. Value is defined by the customer — and until you know how they define it, you are guessing.
Value Perceptions Change
What a customer valued last year may not be what they value today. Circumstances change. Priorities shift. Selling on historic value into a changed context is one of the most common causes of price pressure.
Identify People Who Care
Strong value, poorly directed, stalls. In complex sales, you are rarely in the room when the decision is made. Value must be positioned with those who shape opinion, manage risk, and control budget.
Differentiate
Very few offerings are true commodities. Differentiation rarely lives inside the product alone — it lives in the total experience of working with you. But if your team believes you are a commodity, they will behave like one.
Communicate Your Value
Better slides will not fix a weak value case. If value has not been clearly understood, revisited, and aligned with the right stakeholders, no amount of polished messaging will compensate. Precision matters more than persuasion.
Value Price
Price is not where value is decided — it is where value is tested. A customer's willingness to pay is shaped long before negotiation begins. If the value case is weak going in, no negotiation tactic will save the margin.
Deliver the Value Promise
The value promised in the sales process is judged in delivery. Customers do not separate the two. When experience aligns with promise, trust strengthens. When it does not, every future commercial conversation becomes harder.
Value Selling — Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about value selling and why it matters for your business.
Ready to stop
competing on price?
If your team is losing deals to inferior competitors or giving away margin to get contracts signed, it is time to change the conversation. Let's discuss how to build a sales organisation that commands its true value.
No sales pitch. No obligation. A direct conversation about your commercial challenges.