How AI Can Skyrocket Your Value Management with Craig LeGrande

In recent years, value management has emerged as a critical discipline for companies looking to differentiate themselves and drive sustainable growth. Today, it is a core business discipline.

As Craig LeGrande of Mainstay notes, "Just over the last 5 years, you'll hear the title of value engineer has been out there. Value management teams have become departments within sales or within organizations has become more of a discipline, much more of a discipline than it was 20 years ago."

His words reflect a fundamental shift in how tech companies approach customer relationships and value creation.

No longer is value management simply a sales tool; it has become an essential framework for building lasting customer relationships and driving sustainable growth.

Technological advancements, such as AI, play a key role here. But how can businesses leverage AI to transform their value management practices and achieve outstanding results?

Craig shared his insights with us in the latest episode of The B2B Revenue Executive Experience.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Build a Customer-Centric Value Management Strategy

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1. Start Before the Sale

The first step in modernizing your value management approach is recognizing that value conversations begin long before any sales interaction.

Craig highlights, "What we want the sales executives, the leadership of the companies to understand is that value conversation has already probably started way before the AE gets a call or gets the opportunity to talk to that CEO or executive. [...] And it's the ability to understand where that customer is in that journey so that you can have the right conversation with that customer."

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2. Implement Value Intelligence

Building client trust isn't just about flashy numbers like "5,000% ROI." To create a cohesive value management framework, companies need to establish what Craig calls "value intelligence."

He explains, "What we talk about a lot in the book is this idea of value intelligence. [...] Think of it as like the overlay across marketing sales and customer success that builds that communication set that says there are solid benchmarks."

Don't bombard potential buyers with exaggerated claims. Instead, focus on establishing a consistent voice that highlights achievable goals tailored to their specific industry and needs.

The end goal is to nurture deeper relationships and position yourself as a strategic partner rather than just a one-time seller.

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3. Prioritize Sales Enablement

An essential but often overlooked piece of successful value management is sales enablement.

Experienced sales reps often act like individual CEOs. However, without proper guidance and operational support, their success cannot scale.

Implementing sales enablement helps align efforts across the team and transforms complex tasks into streamlined processes.

This allows sales reps to focus more on engaging with customers and less on administrative work.

"Sales enablement is super important for value management because without sales enablement, all of the processes, the tools, the practices don't have a methodology to scale."

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4. Leverage AI

The potential impact of implementing AI-driven value management is quite significant. According to Craig, "There is a 8x revenue opportunity if you do value management right."

This multiplier effect comes from improvements across three key areas:

• 2x increase in lead generation and marketing effectiveness
• 2x improvement in deal closure rates
• 2x enhancement in customer success and retention

To begin transforming your value management practice with AI:

1. Establish Your Foundation: Start by getting your value management house in order before implementing AI solutions.
2. Set Clear Goal: Define specific objectives for your value management program.
3. Build Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensure marketing, sales, and customer success teams are aligned on value messaging.
4. Start Small: Begin with pilot programs in specific segments or product lines.
5. Measure and Iterate: Continuously track results and refine your approach.

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AI-driven value management represents the next frontier in business growth and customer success. Following the steps above and maintaining a focus on delivering measurable value to customers, organizations can transform their value management practices and achieve significant revenue growth.

The key is to start with a solid value management strategy and then leverage AI as an enabler of scale and efficiency, rather than viewing it as a silver bullet solution.

Remember, the goal isn't just to implement AI for its own sake, but to use it to better understand, communicate, and deliver value to your customers throughout their journey with your company.

Now that you know how to leverage AI to enhance your value management, discover the full list of episodes at The B2B Revenue Executive Experience. If you enjoy the show, instructions to rate and review it are found here.

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