Never Quote Price Until You Establish Value

You know, I have been quoting that little gem (Never quote price until you establish value!) for years and, until recently I was always under the assumption that most salespeople had to first establish value for their product or service before actually stating a price. For most sellers, this comes down to giving a solid presentation of the FAB points (features, advantages, and benefits) of their product or service. This, of course, is typically on top of all of the history and background on the company. The assumption here is that the prospect or customer will find something in that presentation that turns them on and that they will find valuable to meet their needs.


The true meaning of this quote is somewhat different: You should never quote price until you establish what they value! You see, the value that you put on your products or services is not as important as what the prospect or customer values at that time. If your products (and the presentation of those products) do not connect with their MWO (most wanted outcome) then your products do not matter and they certainly hold little value to the customer. We need to first establish a connection with the customer by understanding and relating to their needs. Do your homework, prepare your questions, choreograph the dance, and design the dialogue.
The key word in relationship is RELATE. Do your best to relate their needs to your product by understanding what those needs are before you do your presentation or quote your price. A VALUE PROPOSITION is a statement (or series of statements) that follows a diagnosis of the customer’s issues. You can only propose VALUE if you know what it is that they VALUE! So the age old quote goes “If you ask enough of the right questions, and really listen to the answers, your customer will explain your business to you!”