He made the claim that “selling value” was just another way to “sell price” and we all know selling price is a failed strategy. He equated selling value with offering more for the same price or basically a discount on a higher level of benefit. More for less. Selling price.
At this point I started arguing that value involves significantly more than just a better set of features for the same price. It also includes the idea of how you do what you do differently than your competitors.
And then it happened…in his next statement James declared that the better alternative to selling value was “selling uniqueness.” He went from idiot to genius in one sentence.
He explained that you do this by answering questions like:
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects improve their revenue?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects reduce costs?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects improve quality?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects improve delivery performance?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects reduce their exposure to risk and liability?
Finally, he made the point that by developing a way to quantify the negative impact of their problems, presenting how your solution uniquely answers those issues and illustrating the financial return those differences could generate, you put yourself in a very strong position to succeed.
There you have it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. The only change I typically make when talking about this subject is to refer to that uniqueness as your brand.
Read Geoffrey James’ full article. Read what I wrote in my blog post about how a brand separates you from competitors.
To talk to someone about helping you sell your uniqueness or build a brand, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.
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