Mike Wilkinson is called 'The Value Selling Expert' and he helps Sales Directors/VPs and sales teams understand customer value and get paid what they're worth. In this episode, Mike shares how you need to get to the generic issues of the business first, document and understand what the company faces so you know how and where to add value, and ultimately defend your pricing.   Why you have to check out today's podcast: Learn how to solve the 'value mystery', so both customer and seller discover how much value there is going to be Find out why salespeople should need to have business acumen, so you understand how your customer's business works and know where to look for value Discover the right approach to the ROI calculator, so you know where you add value   "Don't apologize for your pricing. Be proud of it and look for the value. Don't discount first. Value first. Then think about if you need to discount." - Mike Wilkinson   Topics Covered: 01:59 - Sharing his thoughts on an ROI calculator gap being pointed out 03:33 - What for Mike is 'Value Discovery Conversation" 05:01 - Value is a mystery 06:06 - Why salespeople have to understand what business acumen is 07:02 - How to make value conversations better 09:24 - Big gap between expectation and reality 11:12 - Addressing a 'which one' decision scenario 12:27 - What's the biggest differentiator when there are no other differentiators 15:07 - Talking about ROI of the differentiation 16:19 - What truly is differentiation 17:48 - Talking about the concept of 'generic issues' 20:18 - Salespeople operating on a 'rat-up-a-drain-pipe' selling 22:38 - How to let customers perceive something to be a real priority 24:16 - A great way to build up the perception of pain 25:46 - Mike’s pricing advice that can greatly impact one’s business   Key Takeaways: "I think the value discovery conversation is so much more than just having a chat to establish customer needs. I really think it is about taking the customer on a journey of value discovery, helping them to understand the things that they actually do need, the possibilities, the challenges that they have, what impact those are having on their business." - Mike Wilkinson "If value is a mystery, we need to understand what customers value. We need to solve the value mystery." - Mike Wilkinson "I have to have that business acumen of understanding how the hell does the customer's business work? Where does their income come from? Where do their costs come from? Because if I don't understand either of those, I'm just shooting in the wind." - Mike Wilkinson "What a lot of salespeople forget is that one of the biggest differentiators is themselves. Just the sheer feeling of comfort people get when dealing with somebody that they know, trust, like, respect -- that is still massively valuable. But you have to be able to deliver." - Mike Wilkinson "The thing about differentiation, as I always say, being different isn't differentiation, differentiation is being different in ways that deliver real value to the customer." - Mike Wilkinson "I think thinking about value and thinking about the value that you believe that you can deliver to your customers is hugely important. But you need to take a step back from that in the initial stages of the conversation you're having with your client." - Mike Wilkinson   Connect with Mike Wilkinson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewilkinson-thevalueexpert/ Email: mw@axiavalue.com   Connect with Mark Stiving:  Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/