Author: Kelsey Fischels

Read the 2021 May Issue of Top Sales Magazine for Mereo principal Andy Carlson’s value calculator best practices. Catch a sneak peak of the article here: 

After COVID-19 hit and shifted the rules of nearly everything — including the gym experience — my family started researching Peloton bikes. We headed online to make a store appointment, and on the website we discovered Peloton’s value calculator.

We answered questions about our exercise patterns and input details about our current gym and travel expenses. Then bing, bam, boom — the calculator output savings we could expect from investing in a Peloton.

We were already sold by the time we went into the store two weeks later. We even complimented the sales guy about the cool tool we found online, and he was surprised.

“Oh wow,” he had said. “That’s great. No one hardly ever uses that thing.”

And here is the truth of it: Value calculators can be applied to any business solution — yet they are not effective tools for every product or service, nor are they all created equally. Ultimately, value calculators employed in B2B scenarios need to infuse specific, differentiated value and proof-backed outputs that empower buyers to make the best decision in their journey.

To build an effective value calculator, you just need the proper perspective on value engineering and the right elements in the equation.

Value engineering has been used for decades to illustrate the potential outcomes and quantifiable benefits of a solution, while the sales and marketing teams collect vital information and gain a better understanding of their prospect’s needs.

Unlike the Peloton example, value calculators must be dramatically overly simplified when placed on a website if they are applied to more complex solutions like enterprise software. As a result of this simplification, most value calculators do not output a believable, compelling case for the large-expense B2B deals. At best, they may contribute to marketing lead generation efforts.  As even the Peloton bike sales guy implied, they are not often that effective in closing the sale.

For B2B selling, though, value calculators are powerful behind-the-scenes tools that can shape sellers’ conversations as they seek buyer inputs to deliver an enticing business case that buyers can act on. The outcomes should illustrate how your solution can meet a buyer’s specific business priorities.

This is important because sellers are now faced with a higher attendance from the C-suite leadership. According to a study by Chorus.ai in 2021, high-level executives are 2.2 times more likely to join a sales cycle meeting now than before pandemic times. Their business priorities and pockets have tightened as well. Can you show them how they can cut costs? Can you prove that your solution could support revenue growth or increased productivity? If you can, you are sure to win.

C-suite leader or not, sellers need to cut to the chase with the benefits that differentiate them from the competition and drive the buyer to act. A value calculator can help you stay relevant and captivating to decision-makers.

For the winning formula, download the full issue of Top Sales Magazine. 

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Read the March Issue of Top Sales Magazine for tips on selling to C-suite executives. Catch a sneak peak of the article here: 

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted more than where and how we do business — it is also affecting who we do business with. Since early 2020, buyer access has been changing.

Between virtual selling environments freeing up leadership’s time and tightening budgets gaining more attention, members of the executive team are participating in sales calls now more than ever before.

A Chorus study has even found that C-suite participation in meetings and calls is up 108% since early 2020 (Chorus.ai, 2021). Chances are you have witnessed this firsthand. And if you have not yet, the odds are high that you will find an executive decision maker on the other end of your sales call before too long.

Engaging Buyer Leadership Demands a Larger Sales Undertaking

Sellers have been vying for this level of access to the key decision makers within buying organizations for decades. Now that it is becoming more commonplace at earlier stages in the buying journey, many sellers are facing tough questions and conversations for which they have not prepared. A key indicator that salespeople overall are not prepared for the decision makers? That same Chorus study saw an 81% drop in C-suite meeting and call attendance from the first interaction to the second, some of which can be attributed to lack of engagement.

There is no room for subpar selling when a C-suite executive is directly involved. The bar is raised on all accounts. High-level executives have less time, have far less patience for ambiguity and irrelevance, and hold a warier ear toward your sales conversations and pitches. And rightly so: Globally, organizations have suffered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. As businesses rebound, C-suite executives are looking to selling organizations like yours to prove your solutions are worth their cost and can yield real results.

This is a time when stepping up your game is essential. If selling organizations want to connect with elevated buyers, they must elevate their value proposition messaging too. So let’s consider a roadmap to help your selling teams get started.

Access the full article, and more from other thought leaders, download the 2021 March Issue. 

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