| Price Too High? |
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What do you mean my price is too high? Regardless of where your customers are from, how long they've been in business, and what you are selling, count on the fact that customers will complain that your price is too high. It's the universal objection. Customers feel that salespeople are prepared to take advantage of them if they fail to throw out this objection in every call and contract negotiation. What's interesting to me is that in the last two weeks, I've spoken to six distinct different groups of sales professionals with varying levels of experience. The most seasoned in one of the audiences has had his own business for 35 years. The least experienced audience member just graduated from college last spring and has less than a year under his belt. The rest were somewhere in between. In each speaking opportunity I heard at least one salesperson ask, "So what do we do when the customer complains about price?" At this point, I always like to hear ideas from others around the room. Here are the top five "killer" answers to this objection that made my hair burst up into flames and recommend you do NOT use (I'll explain why, too): 1. "Compared to what?" 2. "Prices are going up, so it's expected." 3. "Yes, I know it's high, but..." 4. "How much do you WANT to pay?" 5. "That's our price--take it or leave it." Now that I have put out the flames on the top of my head, again, let's take a look at why these techniques do not work: 1. If you are asking this of your customer, you will definitely sound like a smarty-pants (I'm keeping it clean, here). If a salesperson were to respond to me that way, I would leave the room with a "No Sale" sign stuck to my back as the last reminder of what the salesperson could expect. All customers feel that way. If you don't believe me, try it and watch your sale disappear in a poof of smoke. 2. Of course prices are going up, but why challenge the customer? If your assumption is that your customer is bright (and we all should do that), then avoid this comment as a rebuttal. In fact, I recommend that you eliminate all rebuttals from your objection-handling tool bag. Customers don't like to buy from people who argue and challenge them. 3. Agreeing with the customer that the price is high? Where did this come from??? I heard this several times last week from salespeople in my audiences. You never agree if the price IS high because you are affirming that your customer is about to be "swindled" by a perceived "high" price. No, no, no. 4. Asking a customer how much they want to pay is completely dangerous. Be prepared for them to low-ball you to about a buck fifty for a Mercedes. Ridiculous. But, you asked for it. This response implies that you are willing to negotiate, your price is less competitive, and worse yet, that you are desperate for the deal. Forget it. 5. Playing hardball with your customers is not an effective way to make friends, influence customers, and get the deal closed. Most intelligent buyers, when given this choice will simply tell you to "take it". They can almost always get either the same product/service from a competitor and if a customer hears this retort, are likely to do so. Now, here are three ideas you CAN use to handle price objections skillfully: 1. Be prepared. Have the objection thought-through before you have the conversation with your customer. Knowing that most, if not all, customers complain about price, this objection shouldn't be a surprise to you. Think it through in advance and be prepared to either: justify the price, negotiate, scale back, or add more to the sale so the customer doesn't continue to haggle. 2. Consider and deliver alternatives. For example, if the customer orders a larger quantity, scales back on the delivery time frame, gets an extra "something" with the order, or their terms change, it gives you negotiating power to better justify a perceived higher price. Many buyers have taken negotiating skills classes and want to use what they've learned. You use your power of negotiation, as well! 3. Set the expectations earlier in your presentations. You wouldn't go into a Jaguar dealership, walk up to the salesperson and ask how much the car is. You already know the range before you set foot into the door. However, if your customer perceives "expensive" and you don't address that you have the superior quality product/service earlier in your sales discussion, sticker shock is likely to follow. I recommend that our clients (and all of them have the highest prices in their industries), set the call up by mentioning quality earlier in the call. For example, "Bill, you'll want to know that we are not the low bidder in this industry. In fact, we are known to be near the top of the line in qualify, service, and our prices reflect that." By using this technique, when the price discussion comes about later, the customer is better prepared and may even think that the price you are offering is a bargain. Now that you have heard what not to do after a price objection and how to handle "higher" prices in the future, email me for my "Top 5 Methods of Handling Objections" handout by sending your request to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Happy selling! (c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com, 678 587-9911 |
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