Do you struggle with your pricing? You’re not alone. Many salespeople and companies stumble around pricing when there are ways to handle it so that ultimately both you and the customer benefit.
Here are 8 ways to increase your price:
1. Believe in what you sell – If you don’t believe 125% in what you sell and how your customer’s will benefit, then there is no way you will be able to convey to your customer why the higher price makes sense. Sadly, so many salespeople do not genuinely believe in their products and services. Don’t be one of those salespeople.
2. Increase the size of your pipeline – Anytime somebody believes the only sale they’ll ever get is the one that is right in front of them, the more hesitant they will be on maximizing their price. If you continually build your pipeline and build it deep, the more confident you will be when it comes to pricing.
3. Just say “no” – When a customer pushes back on price, it’s imperative for you as the salesperson to just say “no.” If you cower on the initial push back, there is no way you can get through the difficult ones.
4. Never enter into a discussion on price – Don’t allow price to be a point of discussion. Focus instead on the benefits and in particular, how the customer will benefit . It’s essential before going into any discussion with a customer regarding price that you know either questions you can ask or benefits the customer is looking for. By having one (or preferably both) of these, you then can keep the customer focused more on why they’re buying — and less on the absolute price.
5. Accept the fact you won’t close every sale – It’s fine to not close every sale. If you were to close every sale, it would mean your price is too low. It’s certainly better to close fewer sales at a higher price than it is to close every sale at a lower price.
6. Never sell the features. Only sell the benefits — Customers buy or invest only for one reason: to eliminate a pain or to better a situation.
7. Know at least 3 key benefits the customer wants – It’s only a benefit when the customer says it’s a benefit. Let the customer share with you what they need and desire. When you know at least 3 benefits, you confidently can respond to whatever the customer asks you.
8. Use time to your advantage – Time is a great tool when it’s leveraged. A customer can’t begin to benefit from what you sell until they buy. The sooner they buy, the sooner they can begin benefiting. Even so, do not rush a sale at a lower price when waiting and being more effective with your sales process could result in the sale at a more profitable price. The worst case situation is when the customer uses time against you.
Over the next several weeks I’ll be writing in more depth regarding each one of these 8 items. Until then, please comment and tell me which one of the above 8 points most sparked your thinking when it comes to pricing?
Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
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