The New Frontier of Value-Based Selling in Founder-Investor Relationships: An Investigating of How Instant Digital Interactions Influence Value-Based Selling Efforts in Founder-Investor Relationships in the Blockchain Gaming Industry

Abstract

Value-based selling (VBS) can be considered as critical approach in different sales organizations and contexts. This study explores B2B sales interactions between founders and investors, a unique type of buyer-seller relationship. It investigates how founders can increase value-based selling effectiveness in instant digital interactions (Google Meets, Zoom, MS Teams and others) with investors in the blockchain gaming industry. This sector has high relevance for these types of encounters between business owners and investors. The research is conducted based on semi-structured in-depth interviews and utilizes a grounded theory and theories-in-use approach. This research reveals that perceived credibility serves as one of the key concepts for VBS success in digital settings. The credibility influences the quality of streamlined storytelling, which mediates its effect on VBS effectiveness. The study further identifies two key moderators: digital empathy and real-time data utilization.