How do you make sure your value-selling initiatives are a positive experience for both sales force and customer? This was the question confronting Cole Sandau, manager, marketing strategy with StorageTek, a $2 billion storage solution firm. StorageTek research discovered that its customers needed solid business cases to justify storage spending.

How do you effectively communicate an economic value proposition? Sandau and his team put together a set of guiding principles, which they referred to internally as the "3 Cs" for "collaborative, credible and customizable." With the 3 Cs, you, too, can take your value-selling initiative to the next level.

Collaborative
The "black box"—a 30-page report sent to the printer with no input—won't ensure compelling value propositions. Key stakeholders must selectively input and review the business case at all stages of the sales cycle.