• Understand and explain the various Value-Based Selling models.
• Apply Value-Based Selling behaviours on a given case study context
• Demonstrate ability to assess which organizational processes to recommend based on customer challenges
• Create a plan for implementing Value-Based Selling in an organization undergoing servitization
• Evaluate a company's servitization effort and generate improvements

This course offers students the closest thing to a professional, Value-Based Sales education as possible in a university context. Being able to excel in this discipline becomes increasingly important as many companies add ancillary services to their products to create value in cooperation with their customers. This process – known as “servitization” – aims to create measurable value for customers through solving business problems rather than simply selling products. To succeed in this process, Value-Based Selling offers a set of principles and capabilities that significantly improves performance in the companies that are able to implement them. 

Students will learn about the organizational requirements as well as the behaviours demanded of the sales force for successful Value-Based Selling implementation. The course will teach concrete sales, communication and leadership tools, and students will learn to pose insightful questions, generate effective Value Propositions, present with confidence, and manage a Value-Based Sales organization.

This course will use a combination of lectures and case sessions. The lectures will introduce the newest theories and models and the cases will give students the opportunity to test their knowledge in practice: working in groups, they will work with professional salespeople and -managers from leading companies to build their sales, communication, and management skills. 

Indicative list of the literature

Eggert, A. et al: Conceptualizing and communicating value in business markets: From value in exchange to value in use Industrial Marketing Management, 69 (2018) 80–90

Haas, A. et al: Creating value in business relationships: The role of sales Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 94–105

Jaakkola, M. et al: Various forms of value-based selling capability — Commentary on “Value-Based Selling: An Organizational Capability Perspective” Industrial Marketing Management, 45 (2015) 113–114

Kohtamäki, Marko, et al. "Practices in servitization." Practices and tools for servitization. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018. 1-21.

Koponen, J. et al:  Sales communication competence in international B2B solution selling, Industrial Marketing Management, 82 (2019) 238–252

Sullivan, U. et al: Value creation and firm sales performance: The mediating roles of strategic account management and relationship perception, Industrial Marketing Management, 41 (2012) 166–173

Tehro, H. et al: ‘It's almost like taking the sales out of selling’—Towards a conceptualization of value-based selling in business markets Industrial Marketing Management, 41 (2012) 174–185 

Töytäri, P. et al: Value-based selling: An organizational capability perspective Industrial Marketing Management 45, (2015) 101–112 

Wolfgang Ulaga & Werner J. Reinartz: Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully Journal of Marketing Vol. 75 (November 2011), 5–23

Yanzhe, L. et al:  Successful implementation of value-based selling: a value co-creation and dynamic capabilities perspective, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 36(3)2021 372–389