Episode description

Unique value selling, a tactic that’s been employed in the software world for years, guides practitioners to figure out why a product is a particularly good fit for a prospect, and then sell them on that message. That unique value proposition is something all startups mull over from Day One. Too few, however, break that high-level message down into dollars and cents for their potential customers, tying it directly to the bottom line. This week’s podcast invitee, Nanigans’ SVP of Global Sales Aaron Mittman, argues that a unique value selling proposition must be underpinned by a thorough, quantitatively sound ROI. By deconstructing ROI into an actual spreadsheet calculation, you can not only arm your target with a defensible method to evangelize the sale internally, but you are also forced to uncover potential gaps in your sales strategy. Perhaps your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), for example, should prioritize those leads with higher ROI, whether that be a result of their business model, products they currently use, or how quickly they are growing. Without an ROI calculation to back it up, unique value selling can often devolve into the sales team echoing what management believes its strongest product features to be; sometimes, it’s better to let the numbers do the talking.

Aaron’s quantitative ROI model seeks to calculate positive impact in 4 areas: (1) increased revenue, (2) decrease costs, (3) decreased risk, and (4) increased speed-to-market. An informed salesperson will be able to walk a potential client through top- and bottom-line math, highlight protection against threats (e.g. increase uptime, reduce liability), and underscore how a product can help clients execute more quickly than ever before.

So tune in to hear Aaron’s advice on how to best structure your ROI calculation and bring your unique value selling efforts to the next level! Currently the SVP of Global Sales at Nanigans, Aaron draws from years of experience investing and advising SaaS startups, including CoinTent, CoVis, and Mortar Data. And he’s put this ROI quantification strategy to work many times over. I’d recommend the exercise to even the earliest-stage founders; at the very least it’s a healthy stress-test of your product’s value prop, and at best, you may find it helps your reps drive more deals over the line. Happy listening!