Get Clear on Your Value

The Humane Marketing Show. A podcast for a generation of marketers who care.

This episode is part of a 12 days of Christmas read-along of the Selling Like We're Human book, recorded in 2021.

The book follows a similar concept to what you're already used to here on the Humane Marketing show with the 7Ps of Humane Marketing and the Marketing Like We're Human book: we start with the being and then go into the doing.

The 3 parts of the Selling Like We're Human book are : Being, Knowing and Doing (compared to Rumble, Rise and Resonate of the Marketing Like We're Human book)

Today I'm reading a small section of Part 2 on KNOWING, Chapte4 3 called 'Get Clear On Your Value'

Excerpt from Selling Like We're Human, Part 2: KNOWING, Chapter 4: Get Clear on Your Value

KNOWING Overview: Your Value, People, and Worth I’ve made this mistake several times in my LinkedIn consulting business: I created a new product or service, and then ran out to sell it. Or tried to sell it. And failed. It wasn’t the quality of the product that was the problem. It’s that I rushed it and didn’t take the time to “KNOW” a few things first. Let me explain. After writing Marketing Like We’re Human, I noticed in our Humane Marketing Circle that members often talked about marketing when they were actually referring to selling. And in addition to that, my book launch coach mentioned to me that her analytics showed that there were actually more searches for selling than there were for marketing. So that showed me that there was a need. But I had never in a million years thought of writing a book about sales, so I really needed to think it through. These were some of the questions that went through my head:

• WHY would I write a book on selling? Because there’s a fine line between marketing and selling, and humane marketing actually helps with selling; also because there seemed to be a need from my clients. • HOW would my book be different? It would completely turn traditional sales upside down, and just like Humane Marketing, it would be about selling with integrity. • WHO would this book be for? Heart-centered entrepreneurs who tried red selling and hated it and were looking for a different way, as well as for readers of my first book. • WHAT’S the value of such a book? The value is in the uniqueness for people who are craving a radical approach to something they find a necessary evil. • HOW would my book make people feel? It would make them feel relieved, empowered, and encouraged. After listening to our hearts, we will pause and focus on our minds in this second part of the book that’s all about KNOWING. You can touch your head if it helps you to embody it. This part of the book gives us clarity about our value and our worth, as well as who we’re really serving with our offer. As with everything we do, we bring our own values, transparency, and an emotional connection. Again, remember the yoga analysis from Part One. This is still important and deep work you’re doing. And in Part Three, we’ll bring it all together and into practice during our beautiful sales conversations.

People Buy What’s Valuable to Them Let’s talk about the Unique Selling Proposition, more commonly referred to as the USP. Have you heard that term before? Here’s the Oxford Reference definition from their website: A product benefit that can be regarded as unique and therefore can be used in advertising to differentiate it from the competition. The concept is not now as popular as it was, as not every product can have a USP. The first sentence describes it as the one thing that makes your business better than the competition. What surprised me was the second sentence. Apparently the USP has lost in popularity because in today’s market, where everything has already been invented and claimed, it’s very difficult to find a truly unique selling proposition. What do we do instead? How do we position our offer as unique? Because what’s still true is that people buy what’s valuable to them. And on top of that, they have way more choice than they had a decade ago. They are smarter, better educated, and in many cases, up to 60 percent further along the buying journey before you even get a chance to speak to them. So how do we demonstrate that our products or services are unique and have value? That’s what we’re going to work on in this chapter.

What’s the Value You’re Selling? When we talk about value, we always look at it from the perspective of our clients: what are their wants and needs, what they’re experiencing now, and how you can help them. In the introduction, I mentioned the often-used term gap selling. By definition, there is a focus on the negative, on the gap that the client finds himself facing. So this whole sales technique revolves around making the client realize how big this gap is and then come to the conclusion that without help, he can never crawl out of that abyss. I’d like to introduce you to another term that describes the same concept, but focuses on the positive: value-based selling.

Value-Based Selling vs. Gap Selling In the humane approach to selling, we also consider our clients’ perspective and listen to their wants and needs and what they are struggling with now, but instead of focusing so much on the gap, we rest our attention on the transition and how we can help them get there. The difference is subtle, but I’m sure you’ll immediately get which one is which in these two examples: “You’ve told me that you’re currently not getting enough clients. This situation is hard on you because you’re struggling to pay the bills, which creates tension with your husband, and you’re often shouting at your kids. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can easily sign with three high-paying clients each month, and instead of arguing with your husband, head to the gym together and have a nice lunch afterwards, while the kids are still at school.”

Or

“I hear your frustration with not getting enough clients right now. Building a business takes time. While I can’t promise that you’ll have a boatload of new clients within three months, I can help you get to the next level, focus on leadgenerating activities, and help you systematize your business so you don’t feel like you always have to work more and more. I can help you prioritize those activities that get you the biggest return on investment.” The first example uses the typical gap-selling method, making people realize how shitty their situation is and then waving the magic wand to sell them a utopia that they have only limited control over.

The second example uses a more humane value-based selling approach. While the value in getting help is still clear, it is presented with integrity. No exaggerated promises, no magic wand.

This excerpt is from Part 2: KNOWING, Chapter 4: Get Clear on Your Value.

If what you heard today resonates with you and made you curious about the book, I invite you to get your copy of the new Selling Like You're Human book at humane.marketing/book2. You can also download the whole 1st chapter for free to see if it resonates.

And I'm also planting a seed about my 'Marketing Like We're Human' program that I'll run in its live edition starting at the end of January 2022. This is where we take all these concepts from the two books as well as the 7Ps of Humane Marketing to a much much deeper level in an intimate group learning experience. Find out more at www.humane.marketing/program

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