So we’ve been peeling back the layers on 8 Ways to Increase Your Price.
Hopefully, you’re taking good care of your sales motivation by believing in what you sell, increasing your pipeline and just saying “no.”
Here we are at point 4 — the importance of not initiating a discussion on price.
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 for which the customer is looking. 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.
Shhhh! Keep your price quiet.
Why talk about price with your customer? Too many times when we talk to our customers about price, we wind up thinking our price is too high. As soon as we start thinking our price is too high, we become very susceptible to giving the customer a discount. In one swift blow, we jeopardize profit and our sales motivation.
We need to avoid talking to our customers about price especially when they bring it up as being too high.
The rule I tell people is when a customer throws out an objection to price the first time, you should ignore it. That’s right — pretend you didn’t hear it.
Wait until you hear it a second time before you respond to it. When you do respond to it, don’t respond by agreeing with what they just said, rather respond by asking them a question. The question you ask should be based on what you’ve heard their most critical need is.
By asking the customer a question based on what you’ve heard is their most critical need, you can help get them thinking about what they’re looking to buy from you. The objective of asking the question is to get them to realize how significant their need is and how the price/value relationship presented to them is a good one.
The approach of asking them a question about their most critical need is not always going to work, but I’ve found it can work as much a 50% of the time. For those situations where it does not work, the best approach should be to confront it head on by expressing to the customer in a confident manner the price is right and actually low for the benefit they’ll receive.
The key is your confidence. Once you express your confidence about the price, back it up by going for the close and asking for the order. Failing to ask for the order right after saying the price is the correct price will only serve to further undermine the price/value relationship.
Trust me — your sales motivation and profit should not be treated so carelessly. Especially by you.
Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks