After weeks of meetings, sales pitches, and product demonstrations, how often has a customer responded with a hesitant “maybe?” You can change the game with a well-crafted business case that transforms a one-sided product showcase into a compelling story of value, efficiency, and strategic foresight.
Knowing the right time and context to use value selling tools is crucial for B2B sales success. Two popular tools are Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). While both can prove cost effectiveness, they have different purposes and are most effective in specific sales situations.
The stakes are high in today’s hyper-competitive sales environment. Having a compelling offering remains fundamental, as does the need for a well-structured business case that quantifies ROI. Here’s what your sales team should know about business cases before they submit their next proposal.
An effective business case conveys your solution’s value and impact as they relate to the specific needs of your buyer. Although different levels of approval are often needed, a business case should be tailored to include the messaging and metrics most important to the decision maker.
Ah, the good, old days; the days when you could approach a prospect with a list of all the great features your solution had. Maybe you added a little about the benefit of each feature.
The economy was good and had been good for a while; it wasn’t hard to get a signature on a purchase contract without having to do anything more than make it sound like it saved effort or increased throughput.
Suddenly, the economy went south for an extended stay and businesses became frugal. It wasn’t enough to show how fast an employee could perform a process with your solution; you had to find a way to convince your prospect that your solution would be worth the amount you were charging.
How frequently do you use the term “ROI” in front of customers and potential buyers?
I frequently hear sales and marketing professionals talk about “ROI” inaccurately. In a casual conversation, people might still give you the benefit of the doubt and have faith that you know your stuff. However, if you’re making a formal presentation or having a serious conversation with a prospect who’s well versed in financial terminology, any misuse of the term could obviously leave a disastrous impression about you and your company.
Each year, sales operations and marketing managers purchase sales enablement tools to help their sales teams increase win rates and close deals faster. So why do so many of these tools gather dust in the salesperson’s toolbox? In my experience, this happens for two main reasons.
I truly believe in the power of ROI tools and value calculators to help generate better, more qualified leads for B2B marketers and enhance a B2B salesperson’s ability to close a deal. (If I didn't, I wouldn't be in the business of selling them.)
There are a couple of categories of value dimensions that will often be challenged by a prospect when you are building an ROI-based business case, and labor savings is at the top of that list. Labor savings tend to be tough to get customer buy-in for a number of reasons:
