In the realm of value selling, there exists a profound distinction between those who merely follow prescribed recipes and those who can co-create culinary masterpieces.
There are cooks and there are chefs.
Often both titles are used interchangeably, but they’re profoundly different.
The cook, is the well-intentioned salesperson armed with a hardwired tool. The tool stunts their growth in creating unique value experiences by forcing them to follow a predetermined set of instructions, a recipe, if you will.
Sellers rotely adhere to the steps outlined, ensuring that each ingredient is added in the correct order and proportion.
“First, I’m going to talk to you about your pain points. Then your KPIs, solution enablers, and finally your value drivers.”
While this approach seems deceptively simple and appropriate to scale value selling conversations within a sales organization, its lacking in pragmatic reality.
The reality is that every value conversation with a customer must have flexibility and adaptability required to truly captivate the customer's palate.
Value sellers need to be chefs not cooks.
The chef embodies the essence of a platform, a canvas upon which value is co-created with the customer. Armed with a digital platform the chef aka value seller can improvise and adapt to the unique preferences and tastes of each customer.
Maybe a customer wants to start the first meeting reviewing a best practice implementation roadmap. Maybe a customer wants to co-create a value driver with the provider on-the-fly.
Real life customer value conversations are not bound by rigid recipes.
The cook sees value as a one-way dialogue where the customer's needs and desires are filtered through a predetermined script or tool. This fails to capture the depth and nuance of true value co-creation.
The chef, on the other hand, epitomizes the art of co-creating value with the customer. Much like a culinary maestro, they engage in a collaborative dance, actively listening to the customer's preferences, desires, and aspirations. With a platform at their disposal, they can seamlessly adapt and pivot, exploring new avenues of value creation, blending ingredients in novel ways, and crafting unique value experiences tailored to each customer's unique palate.
Imagine a customer who approaches the cook with a specific request, perhaps a dietary restriction or a unique flavor preference. The cook, bound by the confines of their recipe, struggle to accommodate this request, leaving the customer unsatisfied.
However, the chef, with their flexible platform can deftly adjust, substituting ingredients, balancing flavors, and creating a dish that not only meets but exceeds the customer's expectations.
In the ever-evolving landscape of customer value engagement, success hinges on the ability to transcend the limitations of prescribed scripts and embrace the art of co-creation. Just as the chef elevates dining to an experiential art form, the platform-driven approach empowers salespeople to engage customers on any aspect of their value journey.
The difference between the cook and the chef is not skill or experience; it is a fundamental shift in mindset and approach on value.
The cook represents the adherence to rigid processes, while the chef embodies the freedom to create, to innovate, and to co-create value with the customer as an active participant in their journey.
To win in an increasingly noisy and commoditized world, sellers must deliver exceptional customer value experiences. The choice becomes clear: to be a cook, confined by the limitations of tools, or to be a chef, armed with the platform to co-create value and forge lasting connections with customers through the artistry of value engagement.
