Sales leaders often tell their teams to “sell the value.” But too often, reps translate that into vague ROI promises or benefit-heavy talk tracks that don’t quite land.
True value-based selling isn’t about saying your product helps teams "work faster" or "save money." It’s about demonstrating that you understand what that actually means, for that person, in that role, in that business context.
That’s where Commercial Empathy comes in.
Commercial Empathy is the ability to understand and connect with a buyer’s world, not just emotionally, but commercially.
It’s about going beyond surface-level goals and understanding:
It’s the difference between saying “This will help your team be more efficient,” and asking:
“If you could cut this workflow down by 40%, what would that allow you to do elsewhere and how would that show up in your numbers or delivery deadlines?”
Without commercial empathy, reps get stuck in tunnel vision, pitching to a single role, solving an isolated problem, and overlooking the broader business impact.
But high-performing sellers learn to think in compound value:
“What does solving this for the operations team mean for finance?
Will it improve margin, or speed up cash flow?
Could it reduce downstream customer complaints or rework?”
This lens allows reps to sell not just a solution, but a strategic outcome. And that’s what wins deals in complex environments.
When reps don’t develop commercial empathy, here’s what you often see:
In short: they might get a meeting, but they can’t move the deal.
Here’s the twist: even with empathy, too much detail can backfire.
Reps with deep knowledge often overwhelm or misread the room, they share insights that are technically accurate but commercially irrelevant in that moment.
That’s why situational fluency is the partner skill to commercial empathy.
It’s the ability to:
Empathy gives you the lens. Fluency helps you deliver it the right way.
Teach reps how roles think — not just what personas want. Move beyond generic pain points and help reps understand how
different stakeholders view risk, success, and value.
Introduce Implication Mapping across ICPs and buyer personas. Help your team unpack not just what problem you
solve, but who else it impacts, how, and why it matters. Implication Mapping trains reps to explore the extended,
cross-functional ripple effects
of a problem or decision:
“If this issue is solved for Operations, how does that affect Finance? What does it free up for Sales or reduce for Customer Support?”
It equips sellers to lead more strategic, consultative conversations and link their solution to real, business-wide value.
Make business impact part of the sales rhythm. Don’t just train reps on messaging, coach them to connect the dots between
the solution and the outcomes stakeholders care about.
Coach deal strategy through a commercial lens. Ask: Does this stakeholder have commercial skin in the game? Have we
made the broader impact visible?
Features don’t just win deals. Empathy does. But not just the emotional kind the commercial kind.
When your reps can speak the language of the business, understand internal pressures, and show that they "get it," they stop being seen as salespeople and start being treated as trusted partners.
Commercial empathy turns good sellers into great ones. It’s not just about what you sell it’s about showing you understand what it means.