‘It's almost like taking the sales out of selling’—Towards a conceptualization of value-based selling in business markets

While the creation of superior customer value is regarded as fundamental to a firm's long-term survival and growth, little is known about the effective implementation of a firm's value orientation at sales force level. As the sales force plays a pivotal role in implementing marketing strategies, this study adopts a discovery oriented approach and conceptualizes value-based selling as an effective sales approach in business markets. Based on in-depth interviews with sales managers in a variety of industries, we identify and portray three salient dimensions of value-based selling, namely (1) understanding the customer's business model, (2) crafting the value proposition, and (3) communicating customer value. The selling behavior entails a mutual orientation and focuses on the value-in-use potential of the offering for the customer's business profits. We argue that value-based selling is a unique concept that differs from the established selling approaches and propose a conceptual model linking value-based selling to performance outcomes. To further advance our knowledge about the effective implementation of a firm's value orientation, we identify future research avenues embracing qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.

► Little is known about the effective implementation of a firm’s value orientation at the sales force level.
► Value-based selling (VBS) is a unique construct that differs from other sales-related concepts.
► VBS consist of: understanding the customer’s business model, crafting the value proposition, communicating customer value.
► VBS is a selling approach that reflects a logic of co-creation of value and focuses on enhancing customers’ profits.
► We identify key outcomes and contingencies for a successful implementation of value-based selling.