If someone were to ask you to define "value added" what would you say? You'd probably have a hard time coming up with a definition — and you wouldn't be alone.

Defining value added is difficult because everyone has his or her own opinion about what it really is. That point was emphasized at a panel discussion of four purchasing executives during a workshop at the Bearing Specialists Assn. annual convention in April.

One of the executives said that distributor salespeople must approach value added from the customer's perspective, not their own.

Frank Brayton of F.J. Brayton & Associates, a speaker at last month's ISMA/I.D.A. Spring Convention says the creation of value is a challenge for the entire distributorship, not just the sales force. For example, he says some people in sales and marketing can readily recite their capabilities, such as application support, technical assistance and product training, but they need to tell how those services can benefit the customer. He correctly points out that it's not the capabilities themselves that add value; it's the creative application of those capabilities that add value. That means demonstrating and documenting the savings that come from those applications.

That's an important distinction. Some distributors are so wrapped up in the services they provide that they overlook the total picture: specifically, how their capabilities can reduce customers' costs and increase productivity. One of the only ways you can do that is by learning as much as you can about your customer's business.

Buyers naturally expect that the products they buy will be of outstanding quality, delivered just in time, and at the price agreed upon. Some distributors consider these value-added concepts. They also might believe that an online catalog or e-commerce capabilities are value-added services.

The problem is that all too often we see value in our terms, as the buyer at the BSA meeting pointed out. Have you ever been with a salesperson who is so anxious to discuss the features and benefits of a product that he really doesn't listen to the customer?

Value added means more than selling a product with a few throw-ins. It means reducing costs for your customer and documenting them so that you really become your customer's partner. That is value added.