Reviewers

Dr. Scott Downey, Professor and Director of the Center for Food and Agricultural Business, Purdue University

Article

How salespeople adapt communication of customer value propositions in business markets by Pirmin Bischoff, Jens Hogreve, Laura Elgeti, Michael Kleinaltenkamp

Source

Bischoff, P., Hogreve, J., Elgeti, L., & Kleinaltenkamp, M. (2023). How salespeople adapt communication of customer value propositions in business markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 113, 41–54.

Summary

This paper explores how salespeople “adapt” their communication using customer value propositions, which they shorten to CVPs. In B2B markets, sellers often must appeal to multiple levels of a buying organization. A manufacturer selling through a distributor, for example, may have to communicate the value of a product to a portfolio manager in a “head shed” and a completely different one for a field-level salesperson who thinks more in terms of day-to-day customer interactions. 

The authors argue there is no one-size-fits-all approach to communicating value. When selling organizations ignore this, salespeople may try to focus on the product and explain why different levels of buyers should care about the product’s features. But value is more than a product. Real value ties to benefits, not features. Today’s effective sellers must be able to communicate value by showing how the decision helps the customer accomplish their goals. Those benefits can be functional, economic, operational, or even strategic. 

This article looks at how salespeople choose and tailor those value messages to fit different contexts.

What does this mean for food and agricultural business?

Communicating value effectively has never been more important – or more complex – in food and agribusiness.

  • The products we sell are more complex.
  • The customers we serve are more complex.
  • The markets we operate in are more complex.
  • And the margins across the value chain are tighter than ever.

In this environment, the ability to tailor value messages directly influences margin capture. That’s why the concepts in this article are especially relevant.

Marketing vs. Sales: Different levels of adaptation

Marketers often craft value messaging for specific products based on segments, or groups of buyers with similar needs. Doing so is efficient and more effective than creating a single message that resonates with everyone.

Salespeople, however, operate at the individual level. Their job is to take those broader messages and tailor them for an individual customer. 

For example:

  • Large, data-driven farmer:
    “Biological inputs offer measurable ROI using precision-ag tools to monitor soil health improvements and reduced chemical load.”
  • Relationship-driven farmer focused on simplicity:
    “Reliable, low-risk tools that support long-term soil health and stewardship without adding complexity.”

The article shows how sales success improves when CVPs are adapted to customer context, not just to customer segment.

Today's salespeople have to serve multiple actors

The research shows that value-based selling must account for who is influencing the decision. For agribusiness salespeople, this means they should adapt not only to who the customer is, but to their decision-making role:

  • Operator → yield, time savings
  • Business manager → margin, cash flow, risk
  • Sustainability lead → compliance, soil health, long-term viability

Tailoring the message to their concerns can improve perceived relevance of the offering.

Adapting value messaging to the customer

Adapting value messaging to the customer requires more than just training on products or recommendations. Adaptive selling requires that sellers are equipped to change their message based on context. It requires:

  • Contextual listening – understanding what matters most to this buyer, in this moment.
  • Confidence to flex – shifting emphasis from feature to benefit to outcome.
  • Stories and examples – so salespeople can translate value into language customers understand.

Sales managers play a critical role by helping their teams build those capabilities, teaching how to communicate value in ways buyers find meaningful.