One of the biggest reasons for failure, is neglecting to validate customer value and willingness to pay, before making major investments. The Design-to-Value and Sales Testing process directly addresses this risk, by applying a structured approach, which validates demand and optimizes alignment with real customer needs.

Leveraging 15 years of experience of blending corporate rigor with agile Silicon Valley methods, this process combines practical insights with proven strategies, helping companies confidently navigate market entry with reduced risk and stronger customer focus.

Design-to-Value and Sales Testing follows a five-step process:

1. Identify customer value zones
The journey begins by identifying the factors influencing customers’ purchasing decisions. This step creates a foundation for designing an offering, which directly addresses top priorities.

2. Design-to-Value creation
By using these insights, the offering is adapted to match customer needs and preferences. This ensures the offering is valuable and positioned for success.

3. Customer validation of willingness to pay
Engaging a select group of customers, this step tests pricing alignment with purchasing intent, helping avoid costly mispricing and aligning expectations.

4. Sales testing on a broader scale
The offering is then tested with a larger, diverse audience to confirm market-wide appeal, ensuring it resonates with a range of potential buyers.

5. Growth potential & planning
Finally, the results of sales testing provide a clear understanding of market opportunity, helping leadership make well-founded decisions on scaling and positioning.

This approach equips organizations with a repeatable, customer-focused framework, creating early insights, validating demand, and reducing launch risks. Custom playbooks allow these principles to integrate seamlessly into internal processes, helping to build a sales pipeline based on genuine market interest and setting the stage for a confident, successful launch.