The New Power Base Selling: Master The Politics, Create Unexpected Value and Higher Margins, and Outsmart the Competition

Expected versus Unexpected Value

There is an emotional component behind the intellectual recognition and appreciation of value. What makes a proposal engaging and exciting for a customer? Expected value is not exciting; it is required. But a positive emotion is often evoked when a person is not expecting something and it is a surprise. Look at it another way: What would be required for you to be promoted to a certain position? Three factors often make the difference:

1. A fundamental ability to do the job (just like meeting a customer’s requirements)

2. A history of providing Unexpected Value that differentiates you from the competition (akin to moving up the Sales Value Chain with a customer)

3. Being recognized by a Fox (which you also want during a competitive sales campaign)

Supporters and Allies are established most quickly in any sales campaign when you provide them with Unexpected Value that prompts positive emotion. These feelings then motivate people to take action on your behalf. Think about it: even during something as simple as a sales call, it is not merely what you say, or think the customer heard, that counts. It is how he or she feels about the interaction and whether it produces excitement or ambivalence. This is why it is critical to move up the Sales Value Chain and transition from providing expected value to Unexpected Value.

Customers expect sellers to provide certain types of value, starting with Stage I product value. Regardless of how many Foxes you ...