Categories: Sales Messaging | Buyer Alignment | Sales Kickoff
Your sales reps are having conversations with critical leads right now. The challenge for many organizations is that those buyer needs may have changed or perhaps the solutions they’re selling have shifted. In the flurry of trying to drive pipeline and close deals, stopping to train sales teams on the tools they need to excel in this environment may unfortunately, fall by the wayside.
The Value Framework is a critical tool for success in many organizations that require thoughtful sales conversations in a competitive B2B environment. It isn't a script. Rather, it’s a repeatable framework that guides the customer conversation throughout the buying process. The framework’s foundation is cross-functional company alignment on the value drivers and differentiators that are top-of-mind for your most influential buying audiences. If you have a Value Framework or something similar, it may be time to assess if it’s still as relevant as it needs to be for your sales team.
- Is the content in your value messaging framework still relevant to your buyers’ biggest business concerns right now?
- Does it align with what your reps are hearing in the field?
Below are the four most common reasons sales organizations are making changes to their value messaging framework.
Four Reasons Your Sales Messaging Framework Needs an Immediate Refresh
1. What your buyers’ care about is constantly shifting
There aren’t many industries that haven’t been impacted by 2020. Buyers' needs and business problems are changing. As they face budget cuts, process changes, differing customer needs and different competitors, it’s likely their business goals have shifted or they may have new problems to solve. Is your buying community aware of how your offerings can help them solve new business needs, meet new buying criteria and overcome evolving challenges?
Your sales reps are your voice to the customer. If they can’t articulate how well your offerings can solve your buyers’ biggest business problems right now, your numbers will show it. Equip your reps to crack into new opportunities and win against competition (and “do nothings”) with a value framework that enables them to articulate relevant buyer value drivers and comparative differentiators.
Many companies have decided to pivot their messaging to align with the current business problems and challenges their buyers are facing. Whether you’ve already begun to tweak your go-to-market sales message or not, now is the time to ensure your reps are able to capitalize on every valuable lead.
2. You have new or pivoted offerings
Businesses are making strategic decisions aimed at staying competitive. New products, features, capabilities and updates may have changed the way you’re able to help your customers achieve their desired outcomes. How are your sales reps equipped to communicate the business value of new solutions to your buyers, rather than simply listing off features and functions? How you enable your sales organization to sell your technology will play the biggest role in their success, and your success.
Refreshing your value framework ensures sales reps can leverage new offerings to better align with the business challenges they’re hearing from customers right now or gain access to high-level decision makers who have the power to purchase.
We’ve always emphasized that the right methodology and value framework can equip sales teams to build relationships with buyers in a way that not only drives premiums but, cross-sells, upsells and valuable referrals. What you do matters, and the right methodology can help unlock a conversation that gets your buyers see that, especially in a changing buying environment.
3. You merged with or acquired a new company
A merger or acquisition may require your sales teams to sell to and communicate with new buying personas within each account. Are your sales reps equipped to speak in terms of high-level business problems and PBOs in a way that appeals to a CMO, CTO, head of IT, or other new persona that they haven't worked with in the past? Updating your value messaging framework ensures that your sales reps won’t be “winging it” in-front of key stakeholders in their prospect’s organization.
4. Counter to new competitors and competitive differentiators
The shifting marketplace may mean your reps are having to counter even more buyer concerns regarding your competitors. If your competitors are using new products or capabilities to meet your buyers’ buying criteria, how are your reps equipped to counter these offerings to favor your solution? Sales organizations that are accumulating an increase in losses and margin cuts are acting quickly to equip their front-line sales teams to counter competitive differentiators in a way that favors their offerings.
Ensuring your sales reps are equipped to have relevant and meaningful conversations with buyers right now, may make the difference in achieving a successful finish to the year.
Don’t Wait. Refresh Your Framework With a Strategic Messaging Initiative
Your sales reps need something to say right now. Simply put, doing nothing will leave your sales reps to guess, resort to discounting, or ultimately lose to competition, again and again.
If you’re responsible for ensuring your salespeople are equipped to sell at premium and increase revenue next year, ensure you’ve got a plan to drive their success. See how you can pivot this year’s SKO to launch a sales messaging transformation that equips your salespeople to execute in front of the buyer, repeatedly.
