Just say for example that I were a medium sized business owner, say, looking to buy a couple of photocopying machines to put in the office. Say also, that ‘Tom’s’ firm manufactured machines which were ten per cent more expensive than competing machines.

If Tom came to me and started talking about ‘solutions,’ I would politely show him the door, explaining that I had a less costly solution. But if Tom came to my office and asked me if I wanted to lose less staff time due to paper jams, then I might welcome him in for a discussion. If he could further convince me that his company’s machine was indeed more robustly manufactured, and that that indeed would result in fewer paper jams and more productivity through less staff time spent fixing paper jams, then I just might be persuaded that the benefit of his company’s machine is sufficient to justify the extra costs.

Vague talk about ‘solutions’ will not cut it as an excuse for price competitiveness. But specific benefits just might, provided that their value exceeds any cost differential associated with the offering.