More Insights On Adding Value

We asked our Linked In discussion groups to help us on our journey to defining "Add Value".  The results came from more than a dozen sales professionals from all over the globe.  Here's a high level summary that distills out the main concepts:

1. Adding Value revolves around uniqueness, whether it is knowledge, experience, insight, perspective or perception that the sales person or team brings.  
2. The customer is changed by that uniqueness; customer are left in "a better place" by virtue of their interaction and relationship with the sales professional or team.
3. There are many ways to make that kind of impact--assuring implementation will work as planned, providing access to experts, disseminating news from the business community, connecting people together, etc.  
4. Fundamental to all of the above is a clear understanding of the customer's business and empathy for the customer's situation.

Agree?  Add? Have we captured the essence?  Next time, we'll present some research we've done that measures the extent to which customers experience value in the sales process.