- As 2025 approaches, Go-to-Market (GTM) teams are reflecting on what worked—and what didn’t.
Despite best intentions, many teams are held back by lingering “Bad Value Habits” that undermine success in sales, marketing, and customer success. The New Year can be a perfect time for a reset.
Let’s break down the five bad habits to leave behind and the transformative impact of adopting better practices:
- Selling Features Over Value – Too many teams still lead with product features instead of the outcomes their solution delivers. This approach overwhelms buyers and fails to resonate with C-level stakeholders.
Result: Low buyer confidence, longer sales cycles, and lower win rates.
The Best Practice: Shift to value-centric storytelling. Lead with outcomes that align with the buyer’s top business goals—think cost savings, risk mitigation, or revenue growth. Use customer case studies and ROI data to prove impact.
Tangible Benefits of Kicking the Habit:
- Improved buyer engagement and trust.
- Up to 35% larger deal sizes (Genius Drive).
- Accelerated sales cycles by focusing on what matters most.
- Ignoring Early Buyer Signals – Failing to leverage intent data (like website visits or content engagement) leads to missed opportunities and generic outreach that doesn’t resonate.
Result: Low conversion rates and wasted marketing spend.
The Best Practice: Adopt a data-driven GTM strategy. Monitor buyer intent signals and personalize messaging to align with their specific challenges and goals.
Tangible Benefits of Kicking the Habit:
- Higher lead conversion rates (up to 3x with intent-driven personalization).
- Greater pipeline efficiency and faster opportunity creation.
- Treating CFOs as Obstacles, Not Allies – With CFOs acting as gatekeepers, many sellers avoid engaging them early or fail to address financial concerns directly. This delays approvals and increases deal scrutiny.
Result: Extended sales cycles and more deal losses at the final stages.
The Best Practice: Position CFOs as strategic partners by framing your solution as a business enabler. Present clear ROI calculations, TCO analyses, and value metrics they care about.
Tangible Benefits of Kicking the Habit:
- Faster deal approvals, by 25% or more (Genius Drive).
- 48% higher win rates when value selling is leveraged (Genius Drive).
- Stronger executive buy-in for long-term partnerships.
- Focusing Only on Pre-Sale Value – Many solution providers stop emphasizing value once the deal closes, neglecting to prove realized value throughout the customer lifecycle.
Result: Higher churn rates and diminished customer trust.
The Best Practice: Embed value realization into your customer success process. Share progress reports, celebrate quick wins, and continuously communicate ROI to key stakeholders.
Tangible Benefits of Kicking the Habit:
- Reduced churn rates by up to 27% (Totango).
- Increased expansion opportunities and customer advocacy.
- Misaligning GTM Teams on Value Messaging – Inconsistent messaging across marketing, sales, and customer success creates confusion for buyers and hinders alignment on shared goals and outcomes.
Result: Suboptimal customer experiences and lower customer lifetime value.
The Best Practice: Develop a unified value playbook for your GTM teams. Align on the value narrative, key personas, and industry-specific messaging. Train teams to deliver a cohesive experience from lead to renewal.
Tangible Benefits of Kicking the Habit:
- Better alignment leads to 10-15% higher revenue growth (McKinsey).
- Seamless buyer journeys that drive loyalty and advocacy.
The Bottom-Line: Make Value-First Your New Year’s Resolution
2025 is shaping up to be a competitive year, and winning requires leaving these bad habits behind. By focusing on value-driven best practices, your GTM teams can unlock transformative benefits:
✅ Higher revenue through higher win-rates, larger deal sizes and accelerated sales cycles.
✅ Lower churn by proving ongoing value to customers.
✅ Improved GTM efficiency with better alignment and personalization.
It’s time to kick-the-bad-habits, and go all-in on value. Let’s make 2025 your best year yet! 🚀
If you don’t have a value program going yet, check out our Value Kickstart program to start 2025 off right – https://geniusdrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kickstart_Program_Flyer_11_27_24.pdf
If you are already executing a value program and want to mature to the next level, checkout our assessment here – https://geniusdrive.com/value-lifecycle-assessment/
