We’ve all been there.
You’re trying to close the sale, and the customer stops you in your tracks demanding a discount.
The rationale or the way they ask for it may vary, but the demand is the same — they want a lower price.
First of all, keep in mind something I feel very strongly about — a cheap customer is a high-demand customer.
Customers who buy only on price will leave you on price. They never will come to accept the value proposition.
The biggest mistake you can make when you hear the demand is to panic. Relax! In fact, initially ignore the demand and try and close the sale anyway. Surprisingly, there will be those who make a demand for a lower price, but when rebuffed by the salesperson will buy anyway.
Vast majority of the time when you encounter the customer looking for a lower price, you will eventually need to respond to it. Just because you’re responding doesn’t mean you need to give in.
Respond by asking them a question that ties back to one of the key benefits or outcomes the customer desires.
Your objective is to get the customer to realize why they’re even talking to you. The more you can get the customer thinking about the needs they have, the more potential you’ll have to close the sale without the discount.
For the customer who is still demanding a lower price, you now have to ask yourself if time is on your side.
I am not a proponent of merely offering the customer options right away. Preferred method is to use time to your advantage. You can use time as a reason the sale must be closed now without delay or you can merely walk away and let the customer think.
Walking away and letting the customer think is far more powerful than people realize.
If you know the need the customer has is high and you believe in your value proposition, then don’t hesitate to walk away. I’m amazed at the number of times the customer will come back either on their own with a follow-up call from you and buy without a discount.
If after all else, you feel you must lower the price, you MUST also remove something from the offer. If you lower the price without removing something, the customer has won and worse yet you’ve destroyed your confidence.
Responding to the demand for a lower price is not something that needs to rattle your confidence. Think of it this way — if you never had customers pushing back on you, it would indicate you’re selling far too low.
Customers pushing back on price is your indication you need to continually sharpen your selling skills.
In the end, your level of confidence going into a sales presentation is going to determine your level of success and profit coming out of the sales presentation.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
One Response
The problem with the ‘don’t discount’ advice is its hypocritical, don’t you try and get the price down when you buy a car or a house? So if trying to get things cheaper is OK for you, why isn’t it OK for your customer? Why are discounts OK when its in your favour, but suddenly they are bad thing when they are not.
You can’t selective about these things, or your logic is selfish motivated reasoning.