Actionable Sales Tips to Overcome Price Objections
Did you know there's a little-known tactic you can use when, as often is the case, buyers tell you, "It's only about the price"? It's never just about the price. You just have to make them aware of that! This is a fabulous tip that you can use and share with your sales colleagues.
Here's the scenario...
You're in a meeting with the buyer/potential customer. You've got good levels of rapport. Your product or service seems to entirely match their requirements. And then that's when they hit you with the words, "I like it, but for me the price is crucial and you're not the cheapest" (or words to that effect).
Your response is...
I suggest you say something like, "I totally understand that the price is important to you and that you need to secure the best deal you can." (Change the words to suit your style.) You then go on to say, "Just to be clear, as well as price, what else is important to you with this product/ service?"
Elicit a list of the other factors that they decide are important. These will usually be things like reliability, quality, speed of delivery, after-sales service, and responsiveness to issues. If they stall, ask, "what else?" until you get a decent list.
You've got them thinking
Great! So far you've got a list of important factors to go alongside price. There's a good chance you're already well on the way to destabilizing their attachment to price. Be sure to write the list down. (You'll see why later.) By the way, if you excel at something they haven't yet mentioned, ask them, "How important is xxxxx?" (your specific strength) to nicely bring this into their consciousness - and onto your list.
Compare and contrast
The next stage is to help them compare and contrast price alongside those other elements you've just elicited. So, pick the first thing they mentioned after price - for this example let's choose speed of delivery - and say something like, "Let's take speed of delivery, what's more important to you, price or speed of delivery?" This really starts to bring home the importance of those alternative criteria and further destabilizes their attachment to price as the all-important factor in their buying decision.
Repeat and demonstrate
Repeat this with the other criteria. What generally happens is price goes down their importance list - and your proposition comes back into favour. You might want to use your written list of important criteria at this stage. Show it to them and let them see their priority list - and how it is changing before their eyes.
Better still, use 'post-its'. Write one criterion, including price, on each post-it and move the post-its around the desk (or even a nearby wall) to create a very visible priority list.
Back in business yet?
By now, you've demonstrated to the buyer that when it comes down to it, price is just one of several important factors in the buying decision. By bringing other criteria back into play, you're more likely to get the business than you were 20 minutes earlier. You can then go on to have a rational discussion that shows, all things considered, your offering is the right one for them after all. Try it. Depending on your specific circumstances, you may need to tweak the process slightly. But if my experiences are anything to go by, you'll start to win much more business than you would otherwise. It's all about the psychology of selling.
Leigh Ashton is the author of "iSell" and a speaker, trainer and coach. She specialises in helping people incorporate psychology alongside technical selling skills – leading to positive changes to their attitude, their approach and their sales results. Leigh's mantra is to leave people feeling inspired and motivated to take action!
