Hook 'Em With Value-Based Stories

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May 19, 2016 | Carlos Nouche
Hook ‘Em With
Value-Based
Stories
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Hook ‘em with Value-based Stories
What You’ll Learn
─ How to engage executives in high-level conversations
─ How to create value-based stories that captivate and create
interest
─ How to deliver any story with confidence
Objective for Today's Webinar
© 2016 ValueSelling Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

What percentage of sales meetings do executive buyers
consider to be valuable?

Surprisingly, only 19%

How do we get in door?
Prospects are constantly
protecting themselves

Gaining CXO/Executive Access
I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s product.
I don’t know what your company stands for.
I don’t know your company’s record.
I don’t know your company’s customers.
I don’t know your company’s reputation.
Now – what was it you wanted to sell me?

Gaining CXO/Executive Access
Research and
Business Acumen
Value Based
Stories
Practice with
Confidence
Source information on
prospects and their
industry from partners,
past customers and
business journals. This
produces an educated
sales team and
consistent rigorous sales
approach that links using
the prospect's business
acumen.
Articulate a compelling
value proposition by
telling the story of past
successes of when
you solved similar
business issues and
problems with
measurable outcomes.
Elevate your
confidence by
practicing the Value
Based stories and
honing how you
communicate them
leveraging your
research and new
business acumen.

What percentage of the buying decision have executives
already made before having a conversation with a supplier?

“Recent study of more than 1,400 B2B customers found
that those customers completed, on average, nearly 60% of
a typical purchasing decision before even having a
conversation with a supplier.”
Source: Harvard Business Review

Implement
Plan
80% 80% 80%
20%
44%
20%
60% 60%
Understand
Current
Issues
Establish
Objectives
Set
Strategy
Explore
Options
Set Vendor
Criteria
Examine
Alternatives
Measure
Results
Phase in the purchase decision cycle
University of North Carolina, Keenan-Flagler Business School:
Sponsored by Siebel Systems and HP
Early Middle Late
Involvement in the Purchase Decision

Senior Executives: Factors by Relative Importance
Criteria Average Score (1-5)
Demonstrated
accountability/responsibility
4.48
Understood business goals/objectives 4.40
Listened before proposing solutions 4.36
Worked well with your staff 3.76
Structured agenda for meeting 3.48
Source of information about
competitors
2.72

What would you like
them to think about you?
- Experienced
- Knowledgeable
- Professional
- Value their time
- Credible
- Candid
- Likeable
- Trusted Advisor
- Understands how
to martial resources

Research – Identify Source of Information
Local Information
Business Journals
Industry Information
Associations, Trade Press
Partners
Co-marketing opportunities,
Other local sales people
Internal Data
Marketing campaigns,
Past customers
Customer
Clients
Networking
Past Client
Relationships
Social Networking
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook,
Google+, and endless more
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

What’s the best way to do that?
Value Based Stories
(Credibility Introduction)
For the right contact level
1. Understanding of high level
Business Issue (BI) or drivers
2. Problems in addressing the BI
3. Value/Result/Impact/Outcomes
Credible
Experience
Professional
Trustworthy
Knowledgeable

What makes a great Value-based Story?

OPEN PROBE CONFIRM
P R O B L E M S O L U T I O N
V A L U E P O W E R
P L A N
•
© 1993-2016 ValueSelling Associates, Inc.
OPEN PROBE CONFIRM OPEN PROBE CONFIRM
OPEN PROBE CONFIRM
OPEN PROBE CONFIRM
CUSTOMER’S
BUSINESS ISSUE
Customer high level problem set:
•
•
•
1.
2.
1.
2.
CONTACT NAME
INDIVIDUAL & TITLE
Value/Result realized by partnering with you: (#’s, $’s, %’s):
•
•
•
Capture Your Personal Reference
Story to Establish Credibility
Building Credibility
1
2
3
4

EffectiveAccess Methods
Gaining access to
senior executives
Always Usually
Seldo
m
Neve
r
A recommendation from someone
inside your company
16% 68% 16% 0%
A referral from outside the
company
8% 36% 44% 12%
A letter from a salesperson
followed by a direct call
4% 20% 40% 36%
A contact at an off-site meeting 0% 44% 32% 24%
A direct telephone call from a
salesperson
0% 20% 36% 44%

Is it Worth the Effort – You Be the Judge
Value
Stories
Stories are up to
22 times
more memorable
than facts or figures
alone.
Research
82%
of sales people
are not aligned with the
needs of their buyer.
Training
& Practice
The star reps are
spending
25%
more time — pre-sales
and post-sales lining
up internal resources.
Source 1: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/02/how-to-make-good-sales-pitch.html
Source 2: Jennifer Aaker Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business -
http://powerofstorystanford.com/
Source 3: https://hbr.org/2011/02/are-your-sales-reps-spending-t

71%
of salespeople
simply talk product*
*Sirius Decisions CXO Effectiveness Study, 2011

Summary
“If I were given one
hour to save the planet,
I would spend 59 minutes
defining the problem and
one minute resolving it.”
Albert Einstein

Deliver Value-Based Stories with Confidence
Confidence (con·fi·dence)
─ Noun:
─ the feeling or belief that one
can rely on someone or
something; firm trust.
─ the state of feeling certain
about the truth of something.
─ a feeling of self-assurance
arising from one's appreciation
of one's own abilities
or qualities.

Individually Capture One Thing You Will…
… over the next 10 days as a result of today’s session.

Plan ofAction
Find a client win and gather the details for the story
─Leverage the ValuePrompter as a template for content
Establish your credibility – create a “Value” based story
─Leverage examples and build your own personal
stories
Practice telling the value stories with confidence
─Practice the story, make it a conversation not a pitch

Questions?

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tools
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library of
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Save the date!
Our next webinars will be:
Your Checklist for Closing
Opportunities This Quarter
June 3 | 1:00 PM AEST
Effective Prospecting: Increasing
Your Chances of Success
June 23 | 10:00 AM PDT

Thank you!
Carlos Nouche
Managing Partner, ValueSelling Associates
Vice President, Visualize
carlos.nouche@valueselling.com
+1 (678) 464-1238

Hook 'Em With Value-Based Stories

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