Market uncertainty, volatile input costs, and pricing pushbacks from customers are forcing distributors to make tough decisions. Many are stuck between a rock and a hard place, between cost increases from suppliers and margin pressure from customers.
In these conditions, manufacturers can’t keep selling products the old way. They need to support their distribution partners with more than just pricing sheets and quarterly promotions. Distributors that want to compete on value, not just price, need more from their suppliers.
Distributors need stronger tools, better information, and real collaboration for successful value selling. They should ask their manufacturing partners to reinforce their value strategy and pricing discipline—especially during economic slowdowns or periods of market instability.
The Importance of Value Selling in a Tough Economy
Value selling is an approach to sales that focuses on the benefits and value a customer can gain from a product or solution. Instead of concentrating on price or features, sellers convey how a product can help a business achieve their goals. Value selling involves understanding the customer’s specific needs and identifying ways a solution can help.
In a downturn or recession, it’s tempting to lead with discounts and chase volume instead of value. But that approach erodes margins and teaches customers that price is the only lever. Distributors need to resist that urge—and manufacturers need to help them.
This isn’t a usual downturn with a predictable end in sight. It might be done soon or last for years. No one knows. Everyone needs to support each other.
Strengthening pricing power takes more than a good product. It takes shared commitment to value: value creation, value communication, and value capture.
Value Selling Requires Clear Value Propositions
Distributors can’t sell value if they don’t know what that value is. Unfortunately, many manufacturers still fail to provide clear, differentiated value propositions that go beyond product specs. Now, more than ever, is the time to ask for a value playbook including talk tracks on how to sell these products on value instead of just cost.
Distributors should ask for:
- Segment-specific value messages tailored to end-user problems.
- Competitive comparisons that show where the product performs better or delivers savings.
- Quantified benefits such as cost savings, uptime improvements, or labor reductions.
- Proof points from field tests or customer testimonials.
Manufacturers that invest in building solid value propositions help their partners justify pricing and shift customer conversations away from discounts and into business outcomes.
End-User Value + Willingness-to-Pay Insights
Distributors rarely have the resources to run in-depth research on end-user value perception. But manufacturers, especially larger and differentiated ones, can and should help close this gap. Uncertain economic conditions disrupt perceptions of value and levels of willingness-to-pay. Now is a good time to validate both.
Ask manufacturers for this value selling support:
- Willingness-to-pay studies to understand pricing elasticity across market segments.
- Voice-of-the-customer interviews that highlight key value drivers and pain points.
- Industry benchmarks on customer expectations and unmet needs.
Having these insights helps distributors shape their offers and pricing strategy. It also empowers them to focus on selling value to the right customers, instead of defaulting to across-the-board price cuts.
Distributors Need a Value Selling Playbook
Value selling doesn’t happen by accident. It requires structure and consistency—especially when distributor sales teams are managing thousands of SKUs across many vendors. It may sound like a counter-intuitive ask, but sellers need support right now to avoid having discussions 100% tariff-oriented. They need to be trained to respond to conditions in the market and price pressures.
Distributors need:
- Sales battlecards with talking points, value messages, objection handling, and key differentiators.
- Customer conversation guides to structure discovery around value drivers.
- Pricing guidance based on value tiers or customer segments.
- Case studies and ROI calculators to support value conversations.
Manufacturers should provide a clear, easy-to-use value playbook (digital or physical) that distributor reps can rely on during customer meetings. This makes value selling scalable and repeatable.
Training and Joint Coaching
Distributors face high turnover and shifting sales priorities. Without regular training and coaching, even the best value propositions and playbooks go unused. Manufacturers that want their products positioned properly need to support the field.
This support includes:
- Value-based selling training modules, delivered in-person or virtually.
- Joint field visits with manufacturer reps to model and reinforce value conversations.
- Certification programs that validate distributor reps on value selling techniques.
Training isn’t a one-time event. It’s an ongoing partnership. When done right, it aligns the distributor’s go-to-market approach with the manufacturer’s value strategy.
Sales Incentives Tied to Value, Not Volume
In many channel programs, incentives are still based purely on volume or growth. That model can drive short-term sales, but it doesn’t support a value-based approach.
Incentives should reinforce the right behaviors—not just hitting numbers. For some products and services, value management remains priority number one despite the tumultuous business environment. They need to be shielded from the usual obsessive cost behaviors when hell breaks loose!
Effective incentives for value selling include:
- Value-based bonuses tied to pricing discipline or customer success outcomes.
- SPIFs (sales performance incentive funds) for reps who successfully position premium products without discounting.
- Joint business plans that reward profitable growth over volume-only targets.
These incentives signal that the manufacturer is serious about supporting value creation—not just moving boxes.
Tools to Manage + Monitor Value Delivery
Distributors often struggle to prove the value they deliver—either to customers or to themselves. Manufacturers can help by sharing tools and metrics that track outcomes. When a supplier promotes value-based strategies to their distribution network, they must also help the network track value over time. Promises made, promises kept.
This includes:
- ROI calculators or value quantification tools that estimate the customer benefit of switching or upgrading.
- Dashboards or reports that track product performance, service incidents, or usage-based outcomes.
- Customer satisfaction or NPS data from shared accounts.
When distributors can measure and communicate the value delivered, they build stronger relationships and justify price premiums more effectively.
Next Steps for Value Selling
Here’s what distributors need to do next:
- Review your top vendor relationships and assess who’s providing the value-based resources.
- Ask for an inventory of assets they have to help distributors manage tariffs, trade wars, and currency fluctuations. Ask for the tariff playbook today!
- Include value collaboration as part of your supplier scorecards and quarterly business reviews.
- Push for co-investment in training, tools, and field support.
- Share your own challenges and success stories around value selling. Make the conversation two-way.
Manufacturers that step up and support their distribution partners on value aren’t just selling products, they’re building long-term market resilience. Distributors that demand that kind of support will be the ones that thrive, not just survive, in times of disruption.
Want to strengthen your value selling strategy? Contact us today to learn how we help manufacturers and distributors succeed together.
This blog post was originally published on The Future of Commerce
Stephan Liozu, Ph.D., Chief Value Officer at Zilliant, is a global expert in pricing, innovation, and value management with 20+ years of experience. He has authored 15+ books, including Pricing—The New CEO Imperative (2021) and Value-Based Pricing (2024)
