What is the criteria that makes a price seem too high?
Think about that for a moment and it’s amazing what you might think up.
Most people would respond by saying a price is too high when it is either more than what a competitor’s price is or if it’s not in their budget.
These two reasons or variations of them are the most common, but there are a wide number of other perceptions.
Problem is these are nothing but perceptions.
Even if someone claims to have proof of a competitor’s price, it’s still only a perception. It’s our job to show them how what we’re offering is a better option. When we do this, there is much greater likelihood that we will eliminate their high-price perception.
We should never view a customer’s perception as something we can’t overcome. Rather, we should see a customer’s perception as just that — a perception.
When a customer comes at you with their belief your price is too high, a strategy you can use is the power of contrast. Frame your price against something much higher as a way of creating contrast.
An example might be if you’re selling software with multiple year service upgrades. What you can use is the price of what a 10-year agreement might be as a way of mentioning a much higher price than what you’re asking.
Another example would be to use two other products and/or services the customer might be familiar with. I’ll use an example of two autos, as it’s pretty easy to mention the price of a high-end car and contrast it with the price of small economy car.
The objective is to simply use the contrast of the price point more than the actual comparison.
Perception is just that — perception.
Whatever the approach you use with a customer, the objective is the same. Get them to see your price as something they expect and can afford.
Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
