As sales professionals in today’s competitive market, our customers and prospects demand more from us than ever before. We are expected to be advisors, consultants, and collaborate with relevant solutions for their business. To become that advisor, not only do we need to have current knowledge on our company’s products and services, we need to also have business acumen and knowledge to be credible and relevant. Today’s sales professional must be perceived as a business professional. Industry knowledge and business acumen are no longer optional to deliver world class sales performance and add value to your prospect’s business. In this one hour complimentary webinar, Julie Thomas, President and CEO of ValueSelling Associates, will discuss how to evolve from a selling professional in a business world to a business professional who happens to sell.

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Webinar
Julie Thomas Shimon Abouzaglo
Today’s Webinar: The business of knowing your customer’s business
Sponsored By

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Maximize value from investments in IT-enabled change by establishing and promoting value management awareness
and understanding, standards, practices, and tools that enable technology vendors and enterprise corporate
executives to collaborate in developing and executing a “roadmap to value”.
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“Where the world goes for the latest value insights”

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This document contains proprietary information of ValueSelling Associates. Its receipt or possession does not convey any rights to reproduce or disclose its
contents or to manufacture, use, or sell anything it may describe. Reproduction, disclosure, or use without specific written authorization of ValueSelling
Associates is strictly forbidden.
Julie Thomas | President and CEO
ValueSelling Associates, Inc.
The business of
knowing your customer’s business.
The key to
selling value.
A sales industry thought leader, Julie Thomas, President and CEO
of ValueSelling Associates, is a business consultant, coach,
facilitator, speaker, and author of ValueSelling: Driving Sales Up
One Conversation at a Time. She has led ValueSelling Associates
to become an award-winning, industry leader in competency-
and process-based training that measurably improves sales
performance in B2B sales organizations around the world.

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Today’s topics
Why business acumen is important
How to engage in a business conversation
What is the relationship between business issues and justifying the
sale
How to be a better business professional

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Business
Acumen
Keenness
Quickness
Good Judgment
Quick Decisions

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Business
Literacy
Knowledge and
Understanding of
Financial
Accounting
Marketing
Operations

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The relationship:
Knowledge Relevance
Credibility

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Create business literacy
with these steps
Investigate Predict Prepare

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The ValueSelling Framework®

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Investigate
Local information
– Business
Journals
Industry
information
– Associations
– Trade Press
– Lists
Company
Information
– Financial statements
– Executive Messages
– Analyst Reports

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Investigate
Research about them
and the
company/agency
Look for trends in
key financial metrics
How does this company
describe, manage,
and measure their business
health?Company/
agency
website
Earnings report
(if public)

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Predict
Business
Issues
Business
Goals
Business
Objectives
Business
Strategies
Business
Initiatives

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Problem
Combination of people, process,
and technology challenges
Business Issue
What customers need to address and resolve to
achieve business objectives
Value created by resolving business issues
Business
Objective
What customer needs to accomplish to maintain or
grow their business

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Has a direct business impact
Will align to a business objective
May need to be discovered
Has a cost and a
corresponding value
Buyer’s perspective may vary
depending on their level
within an organization
Characteristics of a Business Issue

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Prepare

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Questions to uncover Business Issues
What’s your #1 priority or challenge?
What stands in the way of contributing
to your company’s objective?
What’s most important concern
that you need to address?
What customers need to address or resolve
to achieve business objectives

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When the answer is a problem…
and not a business issue
Ask “why?”
“Why change?”
“Why look for a solution?”
“Why is this a priority now?”

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Executive dialogue question types
Designed to surface customer’s view of
current conditions.
Aimed at getting prospect to momentarily experience the consequences of not
having your product or service.
Verifies shared understanding and confirms what we heard
customer say.
Raises issues that didn’t surface on their own.
Used to differentiate and create need for
your products and services.
18

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Value
The only thing that matters is customer's perception
of the value of being able to resolve their business
issues; always a combination of tangible and
intangible components
Solution
Capabilities any vendor needs to supply to enable
customer to properly address their business issues
Value is created by solving business issues

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Justifying the sale
Tangible Business Value:
Measurable or quantifiable positive impact on the business issue.
Value
Benefit
Cost

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What can you do today?
• Commit to staying current and relevant!
• Learn your buyer’s industry
• Strengthen your financial literacy
• Gather specific company knowledge
Online Course

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Summary
• We must become business professionals first,
sales professionals second
• Business executives expect peer-level
value-added relationships
• Investigate, predict, prepare –
all three steps are key to execution!
• Invest the time and effort to
stay current and relevant to
your customers and prospects

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At the end of today’s webinar
Download a copy of today’s presentation
from our website:
Go to www.valueselling.com
Go to Resources > Webinars

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Questions?

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Visit the eStore at valueselling.com
• Books
• ValueSelling tools
• On-demand courses
• Complimentary library of
webinars and
newsletters

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Follow us!

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The proven formula
for accelerating sales results.
Thank you
Julie Thomas
julie@valueselling.com

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The Value Academy
https://vsrcouncil.org/academy/

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The Value Council – New Membership Plans
https://vsrcouncil.org

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Webinar
Thank you
Shimon Abouzaglo, President of the Value Council
Shimon.Abouzaglo@VSRCouncil.org
214-709-7613