Relationships with clients have always taken center stage in the sales function . However, its importance and recognition have grown over the years. Traditionally, companies used to focus on the volume of clients and then nurture them. Over the years, the approach has reversed, where companies tend to focus on value over volume. The sales process funnel has flipped.
Account Based Marketing (ABM) is not a new concept. It was always there in one form or the other, predominately in the form of key account management. However, key account management focuses on nurturing the account after a client gets onboarded, whereas ABM focuses on nurturing the client much before the onboard.
In 2003, ABM started getting traction in the B2B industry, and since then, it is revolutionizing the thinking of sales and marketing consultants. Furthermore, clients are getting more knowledgeable and smarter than ever, further increasing the necessity of moving from a sales-centric approach to an account-centric approach with Content, Creativity, and Personalization in place.
Value-Based Selling Strategy
Any organization that chooses to compete on its value-based product and service offerings must have a compelling selling strategy that is a innate extension of its operating philosophy. Otherwise, a cultural discord confuses sales reps and annoys customers. Value based selling is a tactical response to the market forces that insist more and more for less and less.
Value based selling proactively seeks ways to enhance, augment, or enlarge one’s solution — the three key areas of value — to meet the dynamic needs of the buyer. It is promising a lot and delivering even more. It is achieving a win-win outcome by tracing equitable relationships. Since, value – based selling is a proactive philosophy and strategy, sales reps should not wait for customers to reject their proposition or for the competition in the market to imitate the solution to begin their selling process. The sales reps should perpetually seek ways to enhance their value proposition with innovation and streamlining. It should be more than a naked product selling. As per research it was found that, 18% customers buys because of the company, 25% because of the salesperson and 57% because of the product.
