Course 4: Components of a Successful Prospecting Call

Lesson 2: The Value Statement

Your prospects need a brief understanding of what you do during the early stages of the Prospecting Call to help them to quickly determine if your products/services or solutions are something they may have interest in learning more about.

It is critical that Inside Sales Reps master the value statements of the products/services that they represent. A value statement is sometimes also referred to as unique/differentiated value proposition, an elevator/30 second pitch, or a benefits statement. Inside Sales Professionals need to clearly and succinctly answer the question, "What do you do?"

Value statements differ dramatically from one organization to the next; however, the best value statements almost always have the following elements in common:

Course 4 | Lesson 2: The Value Statement

Benefits over Features

Prospects respect and engage ISRs who intelligently relate product/service benefits to their needs. Research shows prospects dislike ISRs who list product/service features aimlessly without any correlation to needs.

This will be discussed in more detail in the subsequent Course, Presenting a Solution. Prospects prefer to understand how the product/service will specifically benefit someone like them.

Inside Sales Professionals need to state features in terms of specific benefits to the prospect based on their assumed or uncovered needs, situations, and challenges. Potential benefits can include both tangible benefits, i.e. ROI, reduced operating expenses, and/or intangible benefits. i.e. improved customer or employee satisfaction.

Note that in the Prospecting Call we can only form a hypothesis as the contact hasn't shared the details yet.

Revisiting our earlier example we might say, "Mary, I'd imagine that speed to market is critical for you. We've been working with other heads of HR to help decrease time to hire and on-board new employees into the fast paced culture of a technology company." ISR's use phrases like, "I'd imagine..." or "I suppose you are..." and/or, "If you are like many of our clients, you may be..." to make educated guesses and help get the prospect to share their actual needs and challenges.

Course 4 | Lesson 2: The Value Statement

Sample Value Statements

The following call examples focus on the value statement. For these examples the conversation has progressed beyond the call opening:

In this example, listen as the ISR attempts to offer a value/benefit statement but instead only describes the features of his product and not the associated benefits. When he attempts to get agreement, it becomes obvious he hasn't connected with the prospect. Furthermore, notice how he doesn't pick up on the audio clue that the prospect is not "engaged" and rather than pausing to insure he has her attention, he just continues on with more information on his product.

Play Audio Example #1: play pause stop mute unmute

Listen to how the ISP manages the call in this example. First she relates product features to user benefits. Note how she mentions high level benefits that have a good chance of interesting anyone in her prospect's position. Then, rather than asking her prospect if they like the benefits, she instead states her purpose and asks for permission to learn more about her prospect. That sets a powerful tone for the call and creates a very favorable impression. Also note how she uses the prospect's name and uses a direct close-ended question to get permission to ask questions. This helps keep the prospect engaged and allows the ISP to maintain control of the call. These are excellent examples of the subtle communication skills of a CISP.

Play Audio Example #2: play pause stop mute unmute

Course 4 | Lesson 2: The Value Statement

Peer Perspective

A very effective sales technique is to provide a client's perspective on your products and services. Prospects are interested and care about what products and services their peers use to address similar issues and challenges.

Phrasing benefits statements or previous successes to prospects from the perspectives of other similar executives takes advantage of a natural human inclination to keep up with "your neighbor."

Using peer perspective is a powerful component of the Value Statement and positions you as a knowledgeable, experienced advisor rather than a salesperson representing a product.

Course 4 | Lesson 2: The Value Statement

Differentiation

Many other organizations are calling your prospects to sell them different products/services/solutions. Inside Sales Professionals recognize this and avoid generic benefits statements like, "We help you increase revenue and decrease cost."

Though these benefits may be true, they fall on deaf ears because every other person calling them says the same thing. Financial benefits will matter later in the sales process especially to Economic Buyers.

Top ISRs highlight true points of differentiation by completing the statement, "We're the only company that..."