Value is the buzzword of the 21st century. You can’t go anywhere and not see some marketing maven, some company, some blog post, some industry guru whipping out the word value and how important it is to “create value.”

Yeah, no shit. Ya think?!

Value is being bantered about with such ubiquity it hardly has any meaning left.  Really? What the fuck does “value” mean?

We’re overusing the word value, and it’s confusing people.

I imagine sales people, marketers, and everyone break away from a webinar, conference, a blog post all hyped up to go offer value only to realize they have NO clue exactly what it is they’re supposed to offer, if it’s even valuable or even how to measure value.  I see confused, frustrated, clumsy, people scratching their heads saying; “Hey, how the hell do I create value, how do I define value.”

I say it’s time we spend less effort talking about value and more talking about what value is and how to provide it.

Value as a word doesn’t mean anything. It’s a placeholder, a catchphrase for something that is dynamic, contextual and requires acknowledgement from others. So when we whip around the word value, we’re not offering much insight. Value for one person is different for another. Value changes from product to product, service to service, idea to idea, and offer to offer. Value isn’t a thing; it’s an agreement.

val·ue

noun

1. the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something

Identifying value starts with looking outward. It begins with a comprehensive understanding of the other person, group, or company you’re looking to demonstrate value to. Creating value requires empathy and knowledge of others. Creating value means considering another’s goals, objectives, issues, problems, pain, and more. Providing value is being able to solve, minimize, eradicate the problems or pain of those you’re working with. It’s helping others achieve their goals and objectives. When you can position yourself as an asset, as a tool in someone’s efforts to improve their world, that’s creating value.

Creating value isn’t easy when the value isn’t intrinsic. Money, gold, stocks and bonds, houses, etc. they have intrinsic value, and the market sets the value. But when it comes to creating value in the world of sales, that’s not so easy. What is the value of 30 minutes of someone’s time? How do you measure the value of a piece of content, a tweet, a blog post, a demo, an in-person meeting, an all-day off-site, a training course, etc. Determining the value of these things becomes more difficult. The magic is being able to identify the value in these things and convey the value to your prospects and buyers.

Simply put value is being seen as worth something; time, money, commitment, support, etc. When what you’re offering demands something in return, you’re headed in the right direct. The more someone will give you for what your offering, the more value you are providing

Let’s stop talking about adding value or delivering value. Instead,  let’s spend our precious, valuable time talking about what value is and how to create it.

Value is an overused buzzword today. Spend less time worrying about value and more time knowing what it is and how to create it. That’s where the win is!