Want Long-Term Success? Focus On Value, Not Sales

Replace "Point of Sale" With "Point of Value" As The Finish Line

Let’s face it—political tension is making it hard for us to all get along.

Conversations feel heavier. Lines are drawn faster. And for leaders, navigating moral and ideological divides has never been more complex—or more necessary.

How can leaders create a culture where people with different perspectives collaborate and thrive?

In the latest episode of Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership, I sat down with psychologist and neuroscientist Kurt Gray to unpack the psychology behind this moment. Drawing from his research and his new book, Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics, we explored how our perceptions of harm—not our values—fuel conflict, how power dulls empathy, and what it takes to lead with emotional intelligence in a fractured world.

🎧 Listen to this impactful episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

That conversation got me thinking about another kind of disconnect—one that’s just as emotionally charged, but often overlooked in business: the gap between what organizations sell and what customers actually experience.

This week’s feature article, "Redefining Success: From Point of Sale to Point of Value," looks at what happens when companies celebrate a closed deal but fail to deliver on its promise. Because unmet expectations don’t just lead to disappointment—they lead to regret, disengagement, and the slow erosion of trust.

It’s a reminder that loyalty isn’t earned at the moment of purchase—it’s earned in the messy, often invisible space between the promise and the payoff

Let’s explore how to close that gap—before your customers quietly walk away.

I hope you enjoy this edition. If you do, I’d love for you to subscribe and share it with others who might benefit. Let’s dive in.

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Redefining Success: From Point of Sale to Point of Value

Sales without customer value is like a Ponzi scheme—it feels good in the moment, but it’s destined to end badly.

Too many organizations are hyper-focused on selling products and services, fixating on short-term metrics like sales targets and revenue recognition points like installation dates. Hitting those milestones might create a temporary high, but they’re far from reliable measures of long-term success. Why? Because they ignore a critical factor: Value.

The Cost of Ignoring Value

When customers don’t find value in what they buy, the consequences are predictable and costly. Products get returned, subscriptions go unrenewed, and dissatisfied customers actively discourage others from doing business with you. This creates long-term problems for companies:

• Customer churn increases

• Customer lifetime value decreases

• Sales pipelines thin out

• Innovation signals grow weaker

Does that sound like a recipe for long-term success? Of course not. Yet many organizations remain addicted to sales numbers, failing to embrace the cornerstone of enduring growth: delivering real customer value.

Introducing the Point of Value (PoV)

Organizations often celebrate the Point of Sale (PoS) as a significant milestone, and for good reason. It’s the moment when a customer decides to invest in a product or service. But while the PoS signals an influx of revenue, it does not guarantee success. Success only comes when customers realize the benefits they expected from their purchases.

That’s why I introduced the concept of the Point of Value (PoV) in a blog post in June 2010, which is defined as:

The point at which customers get the value they were expecting from their purchase and are satisfied with their decision.

The PoV represents more than just customer satisfaction—it’s the validation of the purchase decision. It’s the moment when true customer loyalty begins.

The Engagement Phase: Where Value is Realized

I often like to say, “A new customer wants to love you, but they’re willing to hate you.” If you don’t deliver the value they expect after the sale, even the most supportive customers will give up on you.

So how do you bridge the gap between PoS and PoV? By focusing on an often-overlooked period in your customer relationships: The Engagement Phase. This phase encompasses all interactions and touchpoints after the sale (and implementation) but before the customer achieves their desired outcomes. It’s where organizations nurture relationships, resolve issues, and guide customers toward success.

For example, here’s what the Engagement Phase may look like:

• Software Company: After purchasing and installing software, the customer completes onboarding, integrates the software into their workflows, and starts seeing tangible improvements like time savings or increased productivity.

• Electronics Retailer: After buying a TV, the customer sets up the device, connects it to other systems, and enjoys the promised features, like high-quality streaming or smart functionality.

• Financial Institution: After opening a new account, the customer uses the service seamlessly, managing finances online, earning rewards, or accessing credit without issues.

• Healthcare Provider: After a procedure, the patient experiences improved health outcomes, such as relief from symptoms, successful recovery, or preventive benefits.

The engagement phase isn’t optional—it’s the essential bridge that turns promises into reality and ensures customers reach their PoV.

The Loyalty Illusion

Many leaders assume that once a sale is made, they’ve secured a loyal customer. But loyalty isn’t bought at the Point of Sale—it’s earned at the Point of Value.

Think about your own experiences. How many times have you made a purchase, only to feel regret or frustration soon after? Maybe the product didn’t live up to expectations, the service was lacking, or the company simply disappeared once they had your money. That’s not loyalty—that’s a transaction.

True loyalty isn’t about repeat purchases alone. It’s about advocacy. Customers become loyal when they don’t just buy again but actively recommend your company, defend your brand, and feel a sense of connection to your mission.

Loyal customers:

• Feel confident in their purchase decision long after the sale

• Experience consistent value that reinforces their trust in the brand

• Recommend and advocate because they believe in what the company delivers

On the flip side, customers who never reach their Point of Value may stay silent—but they won’t stay long. They may not complain, but they also won’t renew, refer, or engage. This quiet churn is one of the most dangerous risks to long-term business success.

And Then There’s Buyer’s Remorse

When customers don’t quickly see value, they start to second-guess their decision—that’s buyer’s remorse.

It’s not just disappointment—it’s doubt. Regret often creeps in when the reality of an experience doesn’t match the expectations that led to the purchase. Psychologist Dan Gilbert has shown that when people can’t justify their decisions, their satisfaction drops. And Barry Schwartz, in The Paradox of Choice, explains how too many options—or unclear benefits—can make even a good decision feel wrong.

What makes buyer’s remorse especially dangerous is that it’s often quiet. Customers don’t always complain or request a refund—they simply disengage. They stop using what they bought, ignore your follow-ups, and quietly churn.

It’s a sign of a broken engagement phase. A signal that the value wasn’t clear, timely, or compelling. That’s why helping customers reach their Point of Value isn’t just about loyalty—it’s about reinforcing their decision before regret sets in.

How Much Do You Value... Value?

Take a hard look at your organization. How much time, energy, and resources are devoted to hitting sales targets? Now compare that to the effort invested in ensuring customers derive value from their purchases. If the scales tip heavily toward sales, you’re likely under-focused on the engagement phase and setting yourself up for failure.

To understand your commitment to the Engagement Phase, reflect on these three elements:

1. Customer Value Understanding: Does your organization have a clear and specific understanding of customers’ value expectations?

2. Customer Value Measurement: Are you measuring the achievement and timing of customer value?

3. Customer Value Ownership: Is there clear executive ownership and adequate resources dedicated to achieving customer value?

Sparking New Leadership Thinking

Here are some actions leaders can take to embrace the Point of Value:

1. Establish a dedicated engagement team. Create a cross-functional team responsible for the engagement phase, comprising members from sales, customer success, product development, and support. Task this team with actively monitoring and improving the customer journey from the Point of Sale (PoS) to the Point of Value (PoV). Empower them with the authority to implement process improvements and allocate resources as needed.

2. Incorporate PoV metrics into leadership dashboards. Expand your executive dashboard to include PoV-focused KPIs like time to value, adoption rates, and engagement health scores. Elevate these metrics to the same level of importance as revenue, signaling that achieving PoV is as critical as closing deals.

3. Develop "early win" strategies. Design touchpoints that deliver quick, tangible wins for customers within the first 30 days post-sale. Early wins build momentum and confidence, helping customers see immediate progress toward their goals. For instance, a software company might ensure a key workflow is operational within the first week.

4. Host PoV postmortems for lost customers. When a customer churns before achieving PoV, conduct a detailed analysis to identify root causes. Treat these as opportunities for improvement rather than isolated failures. Look for recurring patterns and refine engagement strategies to address common gaps.

5. Tie executive incentives to PoV success. Align leadership compensation with PoV outcomes to prioritize the engagement phase. For example, link bonuses to metrics such as customer retention rates or the percentage of customers achieving PoV within a set timeframe. This reinforces a commitment to long-term customer value over short-term sales goals.

The Bottom Line

A sale is a promise, not a victory. If customers don’t get the value they expect, that deal you just closed is the start of their disappointment—not their loyalty. Lasting success comes from bridging the gap between purchase and payoff, ensuring customers achieve real outcomes. In the long-run, it’s not about what you sell—it’s about what they gain.

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Additional Resources

Here’s some relevant content that you may find interesting:

• Customer Engagement Phase Is Completely Neglected. This is the original post from my original blog, Customer Experience Matters, where I introduced the notion of the Point of Value in 2010. (Note: at some point the link may no longer work, but it works now)

• Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice. This book by Clayton M. Christensen discusses the "Jobs to Be Done" theory, helping companies understand how to deliver real value rather than just sell products.

• The Surprising Science of Happiness. In this TED Talk, psychologist Dan Gilbert explores how people synthesize happiness after making choices and why our brains struggle to stay satisfied with decisions that don’t quickly deliver positive outcomes. His research explains how post-purchase doubt—like buyer’s remorse—arises when we can't rationalize the value of a choice.

• The Paradox of Choice. In this TED Talk, Barry Schwartz argues that while choice is essential to freedom, too many options can overwhelm us and diminish satisfaction. His insights help explain why customers may feel regret or uncertainty—even after making what seems like the “right” purchase.

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Humanity At Scale: Redefining Leadership Podcast

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Make sure to check out my podcast, where I reimagine leadership for today’s dynamic world—proving that true success begins with prioritizing people, including employees, customers, and the communities you serve. From candid conversations with executives to breakthrough insights from experts, Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership Podcast is your ultimate guide to leading with purpose and empathy.

• Episode #8: From Conflict to Connection: Rethinking Moral Disagreements with Kurt Gray. In this episode of Humanity at Scale, I speak with psychologist and neuroscientist Kurt Gray, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC, Chapel Hill, to explore how leaders can navigate moral complexity and foster empathy in organizations.

• Episode #7: Scaling with Heart: How Safelite Balances Growth, People, and Purpose with Renee Cacchillo. In this episode, Renee Cacchillo, CEO of Safelite, shares how the company became the dominant force in its industry by putting people and customers at the center of every decision. From simplifying operations to leading change with empathy, Renee offers powerful lessons on scaling both performance and humanity.

• Episode #6: Why Smart Leaders Ask More and Tell Less with Liz Wiseman. In this episode, leadership expert and bestselling author Liz Wiseman shares powerful insights from her groundbreaking work on how leaders can amplify the intelligence of those around them.

• Episode #5: From Conflict To Connection: Harnessing Curiosity, Empathy, and Dialogue.

• Episode #4 : Beyond Profits: The Power of Customer Loyalty.

• Episode #3: The “Dragon Slayer” Approach: Empowering Teams to Elevate Senior Care.

• Episode #2: Purpose, Perseverance, and People: Ryan Hogan’s Formula for Success.

• Episode #1: From Profit to Purpose: Rethinking Design’s Role in Society

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

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Humanity at Scale is a movement to inspire and empower leaders to create humanity-centric organizations