4 Tips to Convey Value to Your Clients and Prospects

What constitutes “value” to your clients and prospects? Are you simply assuming you know the answer to this question or is the answer based on reliable information?

Grasping how clients perceive value is a crucial step in your business strategy. Value perception, a nuanced concept, can vary from company to company and even from person to person within the same company. For some, value is intricately linked to price in an inverse relationship: The lower the price, the higher the perceived value. This type of value perception is often seen in commoditized roles, where one person can be replaced by another with similar results.

Roles that are not commoditized are often critical to the business. Hiring managers seek specific skills, characteristics, and behaviors—and then consider value. While price remains part of the equation, value perception incorporates additional factors. A manager considering several proposals from qualified independent professionals may be looking for a solution that offers one or more functional value components like these:

• Saves time
• Saves money
• Reduces risk
• Simplifies something
• Organizes
• Integrates
• Reduces costs
• Avoids difficulties

To make their selection or perhaps shortlist the best options, they will weigh the value components of each proposed solution against the price. The lowest price is not necessarily the best choice. Rather, the right option is likely the solution that offers the most “bang for the buck,” that is, the most value for the price.

Your Business’ Value Influencers

As well as including functional value factors in your proposal, your business can influence value perception. Influencers include:

• The quality of your service
• Your reputation
• The customer experience you provide
• Intangible advantages of partnering with you

These examples come down to how you routinely do business, and it’s where you can stand out from the competition every day in every way. Take the time to consider how you are conveying value on a daily basis. When you commit to demonstrating value in every interaction and transaction, you can gain an ongoing competitive advantage that will help you win business.

4 Tips to Convey Value to a Prospect

Customer value can be tricky to nail down, particularly when you are selling to a prospect instead of a client you’ve already worked with. Here are four tips to align your proposal with what the prospect considers “value.”

1. Do your homework

Research the prospect before crafting your proposal, both the person to whom you are selling (e.g., via LinkedIn) and the company as a whole (e.g., its website, related press coverage). Do your best to glean the components of their value perception.

2. Mold your proposal to match their value priorities

Think about which elements of value will resonate with your prospect and which you can deliver effectively. Find ways to emphasize these elements in the information you provide.

3. Make sure research about you conveys value

Assume that once they have your proposal, the prospect will also do their homework. Ensure that your image—for example, website, testimonials, and professional certifications—supports the value of your proposal.

4. Align your behavior with value

Demonstrate your value as a contractor through your behaviors. Being on time (or early) to meetings and responding quickly to prospect communications are examples of behaviors that convey value.