Ignore the Request for a Price Discount

If you don’t think you can, you’re wrong. You CAN ignore the customer’s request for a lower price.

When I share this with salespeople, I first get a comment back, “No, you can’t do that.”  Why can’t you ignore it?

The strategy may seem like it won’t work, but it can and does work.  Is it perfect? No, but like the vast majority of sales strategies, you have to know when and how to use it.

The technique of ignoring the price increase can work effectively when the customer you’re selling to has demonstrated a less-than-assertive approach to the sales process.

A person like this may very well throw out a question about a lower price purely because that is what they believe they should do.

If you respond to them with a lower price, the only thing you’ve done is cut your profit.

Best way to handle a situation like this is by merely ignoring the question and just continuing on with what you were talking about.  Surprisingly, this person who is not that assertive to begin with will merely allow the question to go by without being answered.   Yes it works. I’ve seen it used and have used it in many different types of situations.

Key to making it work is by respecting the customer and the question.  You just simply choose to not respond to it. You do, however, continue to demonstrate to the customer the value they’re going to receive from what you are offering them.

What you’re doing in this process is moving forward demonstrating value and overcoming any objection they might have had about the price. And you are doing this without ever having to confront the customer about it.

Do I recommend this for strong-willed customer?  No.

But for those customers who are not that confident, it’s a strategy you can use effectively to do two things.  One, it allows you to demonstrate full value to the customer. Two, you protect your profit.

Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.