(from a LinkedIn Pulse by J Mayburry)

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” ― Warren Buffett

 I know you’ve heard it said before, but it’s truth bears repeating – We are here…… in our future. We are living and buying, and selling in the “New” Digital Age. An age marked by speed and agility and quantum momentum. We want value and we want it fast because we are more sophisticated buyers than we have ever been.

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Gone are the days when talking about products was all you had to do to sell products. Sophisticated buyers are looking for someone to understand their business and provide an opportunity to solve a problem. Buyers today want to identify a solution than meets more than budget, schedule and scope requirements. Buyers of the New Digital Age want a solution and a proposition that meets their value requirements. This is not a technology problem. This is a cultural shift causing a major disruption in thought leadership and innovation. The sophisticated buyer has put digital business transformation on the critical path, both culturally and technologically.

3-D Printing is a case in point. A wild new “who would have dreamed it” technology designed to solve a huge range of enterprise problems. Read an excerpt from an article by J.D Meier at Microsoft:

3-D Printing continues to take shape.

Last year was the launch of the world’s first 3D printed car, the Strati.  It’s crude by design.  But going back to the basics, opens the doors for some wild innovation to solve problems for different demographics.

Via The World’s First 3D Printed Car is a Blast to Drive:

“Developing countries would love this technology for cheap transportation, but so might the rich guy who wants a thousand-horsepower car of his own design, printed in a production run of one. Or the carmaker that wants to churn out a complete car in ten hours rather than 24, using a fraction of the components. Modern cars are complicated, but the union of 3D printing and electric propulsion—where the motor has just one moving part—points to a future in which that’s no longer a given.”

3-D printing, though a new technology solves a problem, such as the need for cheaper transportation, and less complicated manufacturing. People are innovating and problem solving and trying to find new ways to create and capture value. Why? Because they want to solve problems and solving problems sells products.

Here are three ideas on how to navigate the New Digital age culture shift and become a value-focused seller:

Understand the implications of globalization: Many of us talk about globalization but spend too little time really understanding it. Globalization has revolutionized the marketplace, changed consumer demand for value, and turned the traditional business model upside down as a result. It’s impact is, well……..global.

To see an example of globalization impacts, read this article by MarketingCharts staff.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/sophisticated-customers-demand-value-12140/

Understand the business: Do your homework. Make it a point to understand not only the individual customer business, but the industry as well. A deep understanding of a client’s market adds undeniable value.

For more insight read this article at  http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/global-strategy/s03-03-globalization-pressures-on-com.html

See the problem: Value-based selling is all about seeing the problem as the customer sees it and defining value as the customer defines it. Let go of your old paradigms and put your customer in the driver’s seat.

To get some great, immediate ideas on ways that leading technology vendors and buyers think creatively about how to articulate and deliver value, register now for the world’s first VSR Value Summit (summit.vsrcouncil.org) on 29-Feb/1-Mar in Dallas. You’ll meet over 120 practitioners, hear 22 top speakers and be a part of thousands of conversations.  The Summit is produced by the Value Selling & Realization (VSR) Council, which you can also join at vsrcouncil.org.

About the Author:

Jodi Mayburry has 14 years of leadership experience in global strategic initiatives and organizational planning at a well known high tech company. As a strategist and program management expert, Jodi has led teams across the globe to achieve value success in a highly complex and competitive environment. She is a proven multicultural relationship builder and drives complex initiatives that challenge the status quo of design, delivery and cost efficiency.

In addition to her work in global initiatives, Jodi is a college professor and has taught Macroeconomics, Information Systems for Managers, and Project Management for the past seven years. She brings the real world of technology, organizational culture and leadership into her classroom and her work.

She has a BAS in Information Systems Analysis, Masters in Organizational Leadership and a Ph.D. Leadership Studies.