---
title: On Value Subtractors | The Sales Blog
description: There is no greater value subtractor than a salesperson who is unprepared to create value through the buying cycle. Being unprepared is a subtractor. An absence of chops (read business acumen and situational knowledge) is an enormous subtractor. Without the ability to really help your clients, you are stealing their time. A self-orientation subtracts value, […]
image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_95723536.jpg
---

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# On Value Subtractors

![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg)

Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino)   
 August 18, 2013

There is no greater value subtractor than a salesperson who is [unprepared to create value](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/06/29/four-reasons-your-sales-force-is-unprepared-to-create-value/) through the buying cycle. Being unprepared is a subtractor. An absence of [chops](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/07/31/chops-how-to-get-some/) (read business acumen and situational knowledge) is an enormous subtractor. Without the ability to really help your clients, you are stealing their time.

A self-orientation subtracts value, even if you have the ability to create value through the process and have an unassailable value proposition. My good friend, [Charlie Green](http://www.trustedadvisor.com), has a framework for trust in which you divide trust by your self-orientation. If you are focused on what you gain, you subtract value. If you have commission breath (meaning that you talk about your personal gain), you are seriously subtracting value.

Lacking a process or an inability to follow a reasonably decent sales process is a value subtractor. For all of the talk about [the buyer’s process](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2012/08/05/the-real-reason-your-buyer-is-deep-into-the-buying-process/), you never hear any buyer outside of professional buyers, purchasing agents, or CFO’s mention it. That’s because part of the value you create for your dream clients in helping them with the path from the status quo to the better future you are working towards together. Subtraction occurs when you have no discernible process, you don’t know what you need, why you need it, and how it helps your client.

Trying to [make selling easy](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/08/15/7-ways-selling-could-be-easier/) is a subtractor. If you try to make selling easy by competing on price instead of helping your dream client justify the real investment they need to make, you subtract value. You subtract value when you try to make winning easy by sticking with your “power sponsor” or “champion” instead of branching out and building consensus within their organization.

Trying to claim value before creating value is a showstopper. You have to get value creation and claiming in precisely the right order. Subtracting from zero is overdrawing an account.

Create value. Don’t subtract from it.

**Questions**

What subtracts from your value proposition?

What do salespeople do that subtracts from their own value proposition?

---

[![](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IBM-Jun-11-2021-03-03-38-62-PM.jpg)  
](http://goo.gl/S6P7m)This post was written as part of the [IBM for Midsize Business](http://goo.gl/t3fgW) program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

###### Tags:

[Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2013](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2013)

Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino)  on August 18, 2013

 Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg)

Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success.

Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars.

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