It is important that your clients feel they are getting a good value by working with your firm. Clients that consistently realize strong value are likely to engage in repeat business and also provide strong “word of mouth” referrals. To deliver solid value, you must first understand how value is defined.

Warren Buffett famously claimed that, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” While this is generally true, we need a more detailed definition. Value is the buyer’s perception of the benefit received, relative to the price paid.

Some people mistakenly confuse “value” with “inexpensive”, but these are different things. It is possible for something that’s very expensive to be of tremendous value and, vice versa, something very inexpensive can be of awful value. If a new Ferrari Spider sportscar normally costs $280,000 but the dealer offers to sell it for $220,000, that would represent a tremendous value to the right type of buyer.

An important word in our definition of value is “perception”. This is because value is largely in the eye of the beholder. What one buyer perceives as an excellent value could be perceived as a poor value by another buyer. Thus, value isn’t absolute or universal. It is subjective and it depends on the person (or people) making the buying decision.

Sales and marketing personnel within a professional services firm should target buyers that are most likely to perceive a good value by working with the firm. If the firm builds websites for small-to-midsize businesses, it would be a mistake to target large enterprises because they would likely not perceive adequate value. If the firm provides management consulting at very high rates to Fortune 500 clients, it would be a mistake to market those services to small businesses. Thus, a fundamental rule of value in professional services is to pursue clients who are most likely to perceive strong value from your services.

Once you have identified the right type of buyer for your professional services, the next step is to adequately articulate that value through marketing and sales efforts. The “messaging” communicated through the firm’s marketing efforts should resonate with the target audience. With the right messaging, the sales pipeline will get filled with high-potential opportunities.

Throughout the sales process, it is important for firm personnel to substantiate the business benefits that the firm will produce. While the price is easy for any buyer to understand, the business benefit is not. Professional services are not a hard tangible asset (like a Ferrari) and thus, it can be difficult for a buyer to evaluate the business benefit. It is the job of the sales pursuit team to fully articulate each relevant factor that will contribute to the client’s perception of benefit. If this isn’t done well enough, you’ll know because another firm will win the business.

Once the project is won and underway, it is the job of the team’s senior personnel to ensure that proper expectations are being set and met throughout the engagement. When expectations are not clear or are not being met, that almost always results in a weak perception of business benefit and value. Your primary job in professional services is to ensure that clients perceive a strong value from your firm.