Whose value numbers are most believable?

• The vendor’s numbers? Hardly!
• Industry numbers? Believable, but generally not sufficiently specific.
• Other similar customers? Much better…
• Your prospect’s own numbers? Best, and completely believable!

Here’s an example of each:

Vendor’s numbers: “We calculate that you can save $100,000 annually by implementing our solution…”

Believability and relevance rating? Poor!

Industry numbers: “Gartner reports that customers average saving $100,000 annually with these solutions.”

Believability and relevance rating? Good believability but low relevance.

Other similar customers: “Another customer we worked with, in a very similar situation to what you’ve articulated, told us that they are saving nearly $100,000 annually using our solution.”

Believability and relevance rating? Good.

Your prospect’s own numbers: “And, if I recall correctly, you said you expect to save about $100,000 annually by implementing a solution like ours.”

Believability and relevance rating? High!

Moral? Uncover and use your prospects’ specific numbers when communicating value!