Customers choose products because they believe they’ll enhance their lives in some way. They buy a quality mattress hoping it will improve their sleep, giving them the energy to nail a work presentation or keep up with their kids. They add a backpack to their wish list because it fits both school life and weekend adventures.
This is the heart of value-based selling—leading with real-life benefits instead of just product features. Learn how to use value-based selling to convince customers to choose your items over the competition.
What is value-based selling?
Value-based selling is a sales and positioning strategy that places customer benefits at the heart of your sales pitch. It lets product features and price points take a backseat. Instead, the value proposition centers on how your product solves real problems or meaningfully improves your customers’ lives.
In ecommerce, this value-selling approach matters more than ever since customers can’t physically touch or try products before buying. Online shoppers need compelling reasons beyond specs and price tags to pick your product over others. When someone stumbles across your Instagram ad or product page, you only have a few seconds to hook them—and a real-life benefit speaks louder than a list of features.
Value-based selling methodologies
- Qualitative value-based selling
- Financial value-based selling
- Differentiation value-based selling
- Security value-based selling
Your approach to value-based selling will depend on what matters most to your target audience.
Qualitative value-based selling
Qualitative value-based selling focuses on the emotional and lifestyle benefits customers gain from your product. Rather than emphasizing hard numbers or specs during the selling process, highlight the possible improvements to quality of life. This approach works best with products that promise comfort, happiness, or peace of mind.
Take a premium sleep mask, for example. Instead of just listing the details of the blackout fabric, paint a picture of peaceful weekend sleep-ins or refreshing airplane naps that leave you ready to explore your destination.
Financial value-based selling
Financial value-based selling centers on the money customers save (or earn) by choosing your product. This value-selling framework helps customers see their purchase as an investment rather than an expense, emphasizing long-term savings or return on investment (ROI).
For instance, if your brand sells candle warmers, your sales strategy could emphasize that a one-time purchase means candles last longer—so customers don’t need to keep buying them.
Differentiation value-based selling
Differentiation value-based selling highlights what makes your product uniquely capable of solving customer problems. It’s not just about what’s different—it’s why that difference matters. The value selling process works best when your product addresses common pain points in fresh ways.
A “smart” office chair brand, for instance, could build its sales approach around posture-sensing technology, setting its products apart from simple ergonomic design. Instead of just listing the technical details about sensors and vibration patterns, it would promote reviews that highlight how its chairs help them stay comfortable and productive for longer.
Security value-based selling
Security value-based selling emphasizes how your product protects what matters most to your customers—whether it’s their family, property, or peace of mind.
A pool cover company, for example, wouldn’t just talk about durability. Its sales process would highlight how its automatic safety cover creates a secure barrier, helping parents prevent accidents even when they can’t be outside watching.
Free Marketing Plan Template
Create a detailed marketing plan that gets results. Our template helps you design strategies and actions to effectively reach your audience.
How to implement value-based selling
- Adopt value-first copywriting
- Collect targeted customer testimonials
- Base your product tiers on customer goals
- Build a benefits calculator tool
- Equip your sales team
Value-based selling only works when it’s woven into everything you do. Your entire approach to reaching customers should center on the real benefits they’ll get from your product—from the first ad they see to their final unboxing experience. Here’s how to lead with the benefits to customers:
Adopt value-first copywriting
Great copywriting hooks your reader by speaking directly to their hopes, needs, or pain points. Instead of leading with technical specs or product details, tell the story of how your product will change your customer’s life or solve their problems. Your product features still matter—they just belong further down the page, supporting your promise of tangible benefits and results.
Here are a few examples:
| Product | Product-first copywriting | Value-first copywriting |
| Baby monitor | 1080p HD camera with night vision | Sleep better knowing your baby is safe |
| Tablet for artists | 12-inch drawing surface | Bring your creative vision to life |
| Plant food | High-nitrogen fertilizer | Double your harvest |
| Personal blender | 300W motor with six stainless steel blades | Fresh smoothies in seconds |
| Blackout curtains | 99.9% light-blocking technology | Finally, get the deep sleep you deserve |
Collect targeted customer testimonials
Sometimes, the most potent value statements come straight from your happy customers. Your customers can share authentic stories about how your product changed their daily routine, solved their problems, or improved their lives in ways you might not have even anticipated. Collect and share these customer value stories:
-
Product reviews on your site. These are your most direct sources of customer feedback and value stories. Each review can highlight different benefits that matter to different types of customers.
-
Before-and-after testimonials. Photos, videos, and stories can convey transformations—whether it’s acne-free skin from skin care products or a reorganized garage thanks to new storage solutions. These visual stories let customers imagine their own success.
-
Social media UGC. From TikTok tutorials to Instagram stories, collect instances of your customers showing your products in action. These organic posts demonstrate real-world value in an authentic way.
-
Customer support conversations. Your support team regularly hears specific ways customers use and value your products. These fundamental interactions can surface unique benefits worth highlighting on your website or ad campaigns.
Base product tiers on customer goals
When setting up subscription or pricing tiers, skip the tired Silver/Gold/Platinum labels. Instead, name your tiers based on who your customers are or what they want to achieve. This will immediately help them identify the best option for their needs. Tier names can reflect different customer segments and their goals, making it crystal clear which package is right for each type of buyer.
For example, a meal delivery service could use packages like “Busy Parent,” “Fitness Focus,” and “Couple Goals,” instantly showing different customers which version best matches their lifestyle needs.
Build a benefits calculator tool
A benefits calculator tool helps potential customers quantify precisely what they’ll gain from choosing your product. An interactive calculator transforms vague and fluffy promised product benefits into concrete numbers. That might be time saved, money earned, or resources conserved. Creating a value calculator requires teaming up with developers to build something for your website, but it’s worth the investment when customers can see their personal ROI clearly laid out.
For example, a reusable water bottle company could create a calculator that allows customers to input their daily bottled water usage and see how much money they could save over a year—and how many plastic containers they could save from landfills.
Equip your sales team
If you’re a B2B ecommerce business, your value selling methodology should prepare all team members who touch the sales cycle to champion your product’s true value. Through comprehensive sales training, your team can learn to steer conversations toward business outcomes and ROI, helping prospects see concrete value at every stage of the buying process.
A bulk office furniture supplier’s sales team might master this sales technique by leading with questions about employee satisfaction and productivity goals rather than diving straight into chair materials and delivery logistics. By arming each sales rep with the right talking points for sales interactions, every sales conversation can go from a feature comparison to a strategic discussion about business growth and success.
Value-based selling FAQ
What is an example of value-based selling?
An example of value-based selling would be a mattress company that uses sleep quality testimonials in its marketing, rather than just listing product specifications.
How do you sell value instead of price?
In a value-based selling approach, lead with the specific ways your product improves your customer’s life or business, then position price as an investment in achieving those benefits.
What is the difference between value-based selling and consultative selling?
Value-based selling focuses on communicating specific benefits and outcomes from using a product. Meanwhile, consultative selling involves a more interactive process than traditional sales strategies to understand and solve complex customer problems. The two approaches often complement each other, as consultative selling can help you uncover the values that become central to your longer-term value-based selling framework.
