“It’s too expensive.” For many salespeople, the instinct is to reach for a discount. Before you do, think about what that tells the buyer.
What a knee-jerk discount really says
Imagine you’re the buyer. You say “it’s too expensive” and instantly get 10% off, with no other effort. What do you think next? How much more could I get? 15%? 20%? What are other customers paying? The result is a loss of confidence in the provider and their product.
Price objections usually come up for two reasons: the buyer expects a discount (because it’s worked before), or they don’t fully see the value yet.
Be positive and expectant
For the buyer to be convinced of value, you must be convinced first. If you hesitate when challenged on price, they’re likely to walk away, even if everything was going well.
Remind them of three reasons
Next, remind them why they’re considering your product or service, using three reasons, because you need significant proof to outweigh a concern. This is “the power of three”.
Prospect: “It’s too expensive.”
You: “I understand… (pause) …the reason I’m recommending this is that you said you wanted same-day call-out support, guaranteed next-day delivery and swifter testing results, meaning less disruption to productivity. Let’s start the ball rolling to make that happen for you.”
Prospect: “OK, we do need all that!”
This only works if you’ve uncovered their motives properly earlier in the conversation, which is why good questioning matters so much.
A word of caution
If the prospect keeps objecting, they may not be serious, or they’ve talked themselves out of it. Leave the conversation on a positive note and move on to another opportunity. That’s not giving up; it’s refusing to be pushy.
Want your team doing this every day?
Reading a tip is easy. Making it a habit across a whole team is where training comes in.
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