By Liam Hannaford, Co-Founder, valueIQ | Last updated: September 24, 2026
Quick answer: A low value intelligence quotient rarely shows up as a single problem. It hides in business cases rebuilt for every deal, prices set at cost plus a margin, and renewals argued from usage data. Measure it dimension by dimension, then fix the weakest one first, because it caps the rest.
Earlier this week we explained where the name valueIQ comes from and opened up the self-assessment behind the Value Intelligence Maturity Model™. This post picks up where that one stopped. What does a low value IQ look like from the inside, and what should you do with your results once you have them?
Why is a low value IQ so hard to see?
The gap is hard to see one instance at a time.
A business case gets built from scratch for a single deal, then thrown away.
A price gets set at cost plus a margin because nobody could quantify the alternative.
A renewal opens with a usage dashboard because the outcome promised at sale was never measured.
In any given week, none of it is anyone's emergency. Over four quarters it compounds into deals lost and margin surrendered.
Each of those moments has an owner making a reasonable call under a deadline: a rep who needs a business case by Thursday, a pricing lead who needs a number before launch, a CSM with a QBR on Monday. Every call is defensible on its own, and none of them leaves behind a business case, a price rationale or an outcome record the next person can use.
How should you read your maturity results?
Read the profile rather than the average. The dimension sitting furthest behind sets the ceiling for the rest.
The self-assessment returns a stage for each of the nine dimensions rather than one overall number, and that is deliberate. Two companies can look equally mature at a glance, one with every dimension around Defined, the other with a strong Pricing Strategy and almost nothing in Value Data & Proof underneath it. They have different problems and need different next steps.
A company with a sharp pricing strategy and no value evidence has one specific problem to fix first, and knowing which one is most of the work.
What should you do after taking the self-assessment?
Find your lowest dimension. The assessment names it for you.
Ask what it is holding back. The first four dimensions establish and prove value. Pricing Strategy comes fifth, where proven value becomes commercial terms. As Steven Forth puts it in his write-up of the model, "Before you can set strategy and make investments, you need data."
Fix that one before polishing your strongest. Improving a dimension that is already ahead leaves the ceiling where it was.
Retake it next quarter. Watch whether the gap between your strongest and weakest dimensions closed.
Haven't taken it yet? One question per dimension, about three minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What are the signs of low value intelligence?
Business cases rebuilt from scratch for each deal and discarded afterwards, prices set at cost plus a margin rather than on quantified customer value, and renewals argued from usage dashboards because the outcome promised at sale was never measured.
Why does the lowest dimension matter more than the overall picture?
The dimension furthest behind sets the ceiling for the rest. A profile can look healthy in most places while one weak dimension limits everything built on top of it.
What should I fix first after the self-assessment?
The dimension furthest behind. In the model, Pricing Strategy depends on the four dimensions before it, so a sharp pricing strategy with weak Value Data & Proof underneath it is priced on an assertion.
Where can I learn more about the Value Intelligence Maturity Model?
Start with How good is your company at proving what it is worth?, which introduces the nine dimensions and five stages.
