Adding value to a sale rather than simply focusing on the close is integral to successful selling. Yet relatively few sales people have really mastered the art of the value add. Remember that value is in the eyes of the client. When you are working on closing a sale through adding value, at every step the value you are attempting to cultivate needs to be beneficial to the customer. By adding value on the front end of closing a sale, you can make the process smoother and more profitable for both sides.

Take Care of the Customer

The most overlooked aspect of building value towards closing a sale is also the most critical: The sales person! As a sales person, you have the opportunity to be the ultimate value add to a deal. If clients feel that their sales person is genuinely knowledgeable and interested in their business, has the right solutions, and is willing to share their expertise, the close will come naturally. Here, it’s all about attitude – self confidence, enthusiasm, and putting your clients first and at their ease. In competition differentiation is key, and your clients can’t buy a competitor’s product from you. If you make yourself an integral part of the package, closing a sale will be easy.

Quantify the Value of “Included”

One of the easiest ways to add value and increase the likelihood of closing a sale is to include items that your firm regularly considers part of a package at no additional charge. Without hurting your margin, this builds value for the customer. However, you should ask yourself how that builds value if the customer views these add-ons as just another part of the deal. Break out the estimated value of these items and tell customers exactly what they are worth in time savings and in cost. These could include, but aren’t limited to:

• Training
• Technical support
• Warrantees
• Accessories

Look for the Win-Win

The most satisfying deals are the ones in which both the buyer and the seller feel as though they have gotten more than what they paid for in closing a sale. If you’re working on a first deal with a major new client sometimes it makes sense to give away more than you receive, provided the sale is still a win for your business. As long as closing a sale becomes a win-win for both parties, it’s a value add for the relationship and enhances the possibilities for future deals.

Under Promise and Over Deliver

One of the best ways to ensure a repeat client stream is to consistently exceed expectations, and the easiest way to impress clients is to under promise and over deliver. Granted, when under promising you never want to diminish value by quoting too-long delivery schedules or other elements that could hurt your chances of closing. You also do not want to over deliver to the point where margin becomes slim. However, building in reasonable room so that you can surpass expectations regularly will help you close future sales based on past performance.

Don’t Quote Until the Value is Clear

While you may feel confident that you’ve added value and closing a sale is imminent, your prospect might be on the same page. Make sure that the prospect feels that the give and take up to this point has added appropriate value and feel for his or her opinion on the deal. Is anything about the deal unclear? Is there anything else he or she could want? Less experienced sales people often move towards closing a sale without knowing what the prospect is really thinking; once this prospect sees the price, without a value reference closing a sale can be impossible. Make sure the value is clear first. At that point, you can quote your price and move towards closing a sale.