“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)
Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet

How to handle price buyers — Exploding the myth

One of the oldest tricks in the books is for a customer to demand that sellers justify their prices. Nothing is more absurd. Anyone who has ever attended a purchasing training seminar knows they teach four basic ideas:

• Always challenge the seller’s price.
• Always tell the seller their price is too high.
• Always tell the seller you can get it cheaper down the street.
• If you don’t ask for a discount, you won’t get it.

They also teach buyers to prey on the seller’s insecurities. The seller doesn’t know whether the customer can get it down the street for less money, whether the competitor down the street has it in stock, can deliver it, on time, as promised, and whether the competitor provides the same general level of services, technical help, support, inventory, order turn-around time, etc., at the same price. It’s easy for customers to say your competitor does all these things; it’s something else for that to be true. If customers beat you up for lower prices, you are probably inviting and encouraging those actions. How do salespeople invite customers to hammer them for price cuts or discounts? Usually, it is either through “wowing” or “cracking.”

Don’t wow

Wowing is when you communicate to the customer that you think your price is too high. It happens when you say things such as:

• “Are you sitting down?” ·
• “You better buckle your seat belt before I lay this price on you.”
• “Do you think $20,000 would be too much?”
• “Don’t guess you’d want to pay $20,000, would you?”
• “Isn’t it a crime the price they charge for this stuff nowadays?”

If you communicate that you feel your prices are high, your customer will hammer you for a discount because they perceive you as an collaborator, working against your employer to get them a lower price. They also think that your prices are too high because if you feel your prices are too high, and you know what this stuff normally sells for, then clearly the price must be too high.

Wowing also comes from things you don’t say or, if you do say them, you don’t say them well. The No. 1 thing sales reps don’t say that gets them into trouble with customers is not to talk about price. Or if they do talk about price, they’re not comfortable. To test yourself, ask yourself this question: Do I like to talk about price? If you said no, it’s clear you think your prices are too high. Your customer instinctively knows that if you thought your price were any good, you’d be more than happy to talk about it! That’s why one of the first things a customer does is attack you with the question, “What is the price?” If you avoid talking about price, you are telling the customer that you feel your prices are too high.

Research shows that 94 percent of the time a sales rep will not raise the issue of price. When directly asked the price, 44 percent of the time salespeople tend to avoid answering the question. Why do you avoid talking about price? Only one reason: You feel your prices are too high.

Who are the six percent of salespeople who raise the topic of price? Price sellers. People who feel they have good prices tend to lead with price. The customer knows instinctively, if you thought your price was any good, you’d be happy to talk about it. When salespeople are uncomfortable or avoid talking about price, they are “wowing” in the eyes of the customer. And that means the customer is winning, because you have told them you think your prices are too high.

Never crack

Cracking is when the sales rep communicates that the seller might be willing to negotiate the price. Cracking comes from things you say that sound like: ·

• “You know you’re one of our most valuable customers and we really want to do business with you again.”
• “Let me sharpen my pencil on this deal.”
• “Let me talk to the boss and see what I can do for you.”
• “What will it take to get your business?”
• “You know I want to work with you on this.”
• “What will I need to do to get the business?”

And of course, one of the most popular lines is,

Ø “Tell me where I need to be.”

Any sales rep who uses these expressions (or anything like them) is telling the customer they will negotiate the price. When you tell a prospective customer you might be willing to negotiate the price, you will negotiate your price. Your customer will hammer you harder when you crack.
When salespeople communicate to the customer that they feel their price is too high (or that they are willing to negotiate the price), those salespeople will end up cutting the price because they haven’t done a good job of selling. All they do is get orders by having prices lower than their competitors.

Sometimes we need to negotiate the price, however. Here is a rule of thumb that you should never forget.

If the customer makes you an offer, never accept it. You can get close enough to make him happy, but never just say ok. The reasoning behind this rule is that if he offers you $6,000.00 and you say ok, he is immediately thinking to himself that he should have offered $5,000.00.

A final thought:

If price were the only reason people bought anything, only one seller would win: whoever could survive the longest at the lowest price until everyone else goes broke. The upshot is that if price were the only reason anyone bought anything, we wouldn’t need sales reps. In today’s electronic world, all sales transactions could be handled electronically if price were the only reason to buy.

Selling means getting in the customer’s face and explaining why they should buy from you, notwithstanding the fact they might be able to get something they perceive as a similar product down the street for less money. It requires sales reps to be tuned in to every dimension of value offered to their customers, not just the price.

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
third president of the U.S.
Principal author of the Declaration of Independence

Listening is a skill!

Studies consistently show that customers believe sales people talk too much. Even more embarrassing, polls of sales people show that we know we talk too much. But how can we sell more while talking less?

One reason we talk too much is we don’t want to miss a detail the customer might find important, so we overload them with information.

The answer lies in letting the customer speak first. If we probe effectively, they’ll tell us everything we need to know about their problems, and how to solve them. Then, when it’s our time to talk, we can focus our remarks on what we know to be important to the customer, instead of what we think they might want to know. Odds are you’ll speak less while increasing your sales.

The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter-he’s got to just know.

Will Rogers (1879 – 1935)
American Humorist and Showman

The Sales Dentist

Remember the last time you went to the dentist. You were a little bit scared, and a whole lot apprehensive. But … the receptionist calmed you down a little, the nurse was really nice, so once you got into the chair and the doctor himself came in and started talking to you, you started to feel better still. Then he hits you with the gas! Now all your worries are over and you’re ready for whatever he throws at you.

Making a major purchase is a lot like that. The customer is a bit afraid when you first show up, but after you build a nice rapport with them, and joke around a bit, they start to like you more and more. The more excited they get, the more apt they are to want to do business with you now. Your presentation is the gas!

What happens when you leave the dentist? He just pulled your tooth but you don’t care. The pain is still numb. About an hour later, however, you start to feel that dull ache in the back of your mouth. Another hour goes by and it gets worse. The gas is wearing off!

The customer is excited while you are there. They like you, they love the company, and they covet your product. If you let them off the hook with a “we’ll get back to you next week” line, you’re risking what? That when you call them back …the ether is worn off! They have decided that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Don’t let this happen to you! Strike while the iron is hot! Be the sales dentist! Pull that tooth out while your customer is feeling NO PAIN!

How do you create urgency without dropping your pants? Get the customer to admit that he would choose your company even if one of your competitors were lower priced. Because of your name recognition, or unique product line or credible reputation, there’s always a reason for them to buy from YOU, instead of THEM (otherwise, you’re in trouble). Now get them to admit that, ”if ABC company was here today and offering their product for $1000 less, you’d still put my product in, right?”

Remember, this is the time when they are most apt to make an emotional decision. Get the contract now … don’t wait until the GAS wears off.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Plato (427 BC – 347 BC)
Greek author & philosopher in Athens

Cushioning

At this point in your presentation, cushioning is the most important tool you have in your utility belt. NEVER argue or disagree with a customer. Always agree emphatically. For example:

“We can’t afford to spend that much money right now.”

Then you shouldn’t. If it’s not comfortable right now, than by all means, you shouldn’t do it, … Here’s what I do when I can’t afford something I really want …..

“We always sleep on all major decisions.”

Well, you’ve obviously made many fine decisions in your life, judging by your beautiful home, so if that’s your policy, I won’t be the one to try and change you. However, let me ask you this …..

“We always get three estimates, no matter what, and you’re the first.”

I’m your first? You should never buy anything without getting a couple estimates! My only question is this: Let’s say another company comes in …

BE ON YOUR CUSTOMER’S SIDE!!!

Now, Remember these four letters: WCCA

W Write it down

C Cushion their objection

C Clarify their argument/objection

A Ask questions

Some examples

“We can’t afford to spend that much money right now.”

Write it down. This needs to be addressed before trying to close and it gives the appearance that you’re truly concerned with their dilemma.

Cushion — “If I’ve learned anything in life, Mrs. Brown, is that we can only do what’s affordable for us. I really understand that,my product is sometimes a little higher than people have budgeted.

Clarify — “So what you’re saying, just to make sure we’re on the same page, is that you’d like to have my product, but THIS amount is more than you’re comfortable spending today?

Ask – What if we were able to get started with the really serious problems today, as opposed to doing nothing, and worry about the other ones next year.

“We always sleep on all major decisions.”

Write it down. This needs to be addressed before trying to close.

Cushion — Well, you’ve obviously made many fine decisions in your life, judging by your beautiful home, so if that’s your policy, that’s what you should do.

Clarify – So there aren’t any specific reasons NOT to get started on the project, you just want to make sure you’re as comfortable tomorrow as you are right now?

Ask – Just to make sure I understand … is there anything right NOW that you’re uncomfortable with?

“We always get three estimates, no matter what, and you’re the first.”

Write it down. This needs to be addressed before trying to close.

Cushion — I’m your first? You should never buy anything without getting a couple estimates!”

Clarify – So you like everything I’ve shown you, you love my company, and you’re crazy about me, right? (smile) So you just need to talk to other people just to make sure?

Ask — My only question is this: Let’s say another company comes in, not as nice of a product, not as professional, not as long in business … but they’re cheaper. Would you consider settling for less quality just to save a few bucks?

By cushioning their objection you are telling them that you’re on their side, not the enemy. If you get pushy and continue to close with their objection floating out there, they will get defensive and want you to leave. This is a great tool, use it always.

“Digressions, objections, delight in mockery and carefree mistrust are all signs of health.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Beyond Good and Evil

Objections vs. Stalls vs. conditions

By my definition, an objection is the customer’s way of telling us what we have to accomplish in order to sell him. He’s telling us that he’s not 100% comfortable yet. Unfortunately, it’s not usually the first thing they tell us.
Ex: “We need to think about it” really means “That’s more money than I can afford right now!”

There are a lot of ways a customer may try to hide that it’s a money issue. It’s a natural reaction, they’re usually embarrassed. There are some easy ways to funnel their camouflaged objections into the actual one. For example:

“I understand you need to think about this Jim and Martha, which is totally fine. Let me ask you a few questions to make sure we’re on the same page, ok? Is there anything about my product that you’re uncomfortable with? No, how about our service plan? Well, could it be the price?”

Now that’s an easy way of doing it. But it works. We’ll discuss some other ways as well.

“If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer?“

Steven Wright (1955- )
Stand-up comedian/actor/writer

A Stall is something that a customer says or does that covers up the real reason they do not feel comfortable going ahead with the project.

Ex: Great, let me call my credit union and get back to you next week.”

You see, he’s not saying no (but he’s a far cry from saying yes, either). What he’s doing is trying to get rid of you with the least confrontation as possible. This is not a bad thing for us, if we can get the customer to agree that “THAT” is the only reason he’s not committing to your product today. Either that or we funnel him down to his real objection, which is probably money. For instance:

“That’s great, Jack and Jill. Credit Unions will always seem to offer the very best rates, you’re lucky to belong to one. However, just to make sure we’re all on the same page, … is there any other reasons why you don’t want to start the project now other than checking with your credit union first?”

If they agree, then play the devil’s advocate … “Let me ask you this Jack, what if they turn you down, can we use our financing as a back up?”

If they say sure, then you have yourself an order. However, if they try to stall you, you realize that they’re really not sold yet.

Ask a question such as: “So if they turn you down, does that mean you can’t sign up at all?” If they say they will still do it, ask them to confirm that it will be your product for sure that they use.

Now you’ve gotten them to admit that going with your product, and they’re going to do it with or without their credit union. You’ve just thrown a monkey wrench into their stall.

“Let’s write this up now, because you’ll probably need a copy for your credit union, and this way I’m all set to get you a loan if they don’t make you happy, fair enough?”

Chances are, it’s not fair enough. Remember, this was a stall. The customer will hem, haw and hopefully you’ll be able to get the true objection out of them, which will probably be the money.

“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. “

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
35^th President of the United States

A condition is a specific reason why they can’t do it now. The customer is not telling us that he doesn’t want to do it; he’s telling us that he can’t do it. Many times this is a façade, but some times it’s something that is out of our customer’s control and ours too.

Ex: “I have no money and my credit is very bad.”

Hmmmm, doesn’t sound like a very good prospect. Cut to the chase with this customer. Flat out get him to agree that if YOU can make this happen, he wants to get started now. With a customer like this, you have to be very upbeat and positive.

“We get everybody financed.”

Some conditions, conversely, can’t be handled. Such as:

“We don’t own this house.” … Find out who does and reset the appointment.

Remember, there are several things you can do up front, in order to make the objections easier to handle on the back end:

• Build value during our presentation
• Use Price conditioning early and often.
• Take out the competition early in the presentation.
• Listen to what they want!!! It’s a true skill.
• Use creative synergy so we can arrive at a win/win agreement.

Hint: In non-combative selling remember: A customer will be more comfortable with an idea he came up with himself, as opposed to you solving his problem for him. This is natural human nature.

Just Ask

I can remember back when I was just getting started in sales. I used to go out of my way to do the best presentation possible. I’d be up waving my arms, doing impressions, telling jokes, sticking pencils through my screen, anything I could do to be different, and of course, enthusiastic. My boss used to call it “the Joey Show.” Whenever I’d hit a slump, I’d always console myself by saying, “at least I did a great presentation,” which is good, but not really what I was there for.

The primary Goal Is To Close The Sale

Sometimes we forget what the goal is. It’s not to make a great presentation. It’s not to send the prospect a proposal [via e-mail, snail mail, or fax]. It’s not to overcome all the objections.

The primary Goal Is To Close the Sale

The goal is to close the sale. Never kid yourself that there are people out there that need to be sold! If you don’t aggressively ask for the sale, the next guy will. Even if your price is better, or your Insurance Policy covers more, some people can’t buy anything unless somebody persuasively sells it to them.

Remember your first day in sales, when the old veteran put his arm around you and said, “kid, when they tell you at the door that they ain’t buying anything today … do a fricken Novena, because those people are real mooches!” OK, he may not have said it just like that, but you got the idea and guess what … it was true!!!

Remember, an objection is just the customer’s way of telling you what you still have to do in order to make him happy.

“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

Dale Carnegie — (1888-1955)

Pioneer in public speaking and personality development

Rapport through name calling

Use your customer’s name as often as seems fit. The average person is more interested in hearing his own name than all the names in the world. Think about it, why do wealthy patrons donate money to hospitals, libraries and museums? Because they cannot bear the thought that their names might some day perish from the memory of the human race.

“Save” method for remembering names

            S - Say the name 3 times in conversation.

            A - Ask a question about the name (e.g.: how it is spelled) or about the person.

            V - Visualize the person's prominent physical or personality feature.

            E - End the conversation with the name

Wear a nametag

How many times have you bumped into an old friend and forgot their name. It’s especially embarrassing if you’re not alone, and now the two of them are waiting for you to introduce them. Do you want your customers to feel equally embarrassed if they can’t remember your name? You are trying to explain why your product is better than anybody else’s, they sit there nodding at you but thinking … is his name Bob, is it Bill …”

“You can tell a man is clever by his answers. You can tell a man is wise by his questions.”

Naguib Mahfouz (1911 – )
Egyptian novelist, Nobel Prize Laureate

Customer Questions

A nice list of questions serves several purposes.

Let’s say you’re warming up with your potential customer and he’s the type who’s rushing you into getting started:

“I don’t have all day,” he barks at you, as you’re asking him about his fascinating bowling trophies. “Let’s get on with it!”

“No problem, sir.” And you whip out your prepared list of CUSTOMER QUESTIONS. Now, as far as he’s concerned, you’ve started, however you’re still warming up.

Another reason the questions are important is that it makes the customer realize early on that WE CARE ABOUT THEM.

Having a printed, prepared set of questions can really help in many ways. It’s very professional and easily gives your customer the impression that you’ve gotten down to business. Questions such as:

How old is your home?

How long have you lived here?

What improvements have you already made?

How long have you been considering this project?

What would you like to accomplish with this project?

Is there anything you’d like to change about your home?

What has kept you from doing it so far?

What’s important to you about a company?

What’s important to you about a product?

How soon will you be deciding on this project?

Have you a budget set aside or will you be interested in financing?

Is there anything I haven’t asked you that I need to know in order to do my very best job solving your problems?

The last question is in bold. It lets the customer know that we’re interested in what’s important to them! Ask it sincerely. The other question in bold is your most useful question. Most potential customers will sincerely tell you that they’ve been thinking about the project for some time. At the very end of your presentation, if your customer tells you that he wants to “think about it?” Look him in the eye and ask, “Bob, you’ve been thinking about this for five years now, don’t you think it’s time you acted?”

“Be the Ball”

Chevy Chase as Ty Webb

Caddyshack (1980)

As you pull up to your sales appointment, take a good look at the location. If you’ve been doing this for any length of time, you should be able to remember a home or office similar to it, where you made a nice sale.

Think about that sale! Remind yourself what it was like to walk out of that appointment with a big sale. How good it felt to drive home that night, knowing that you accomplished your goals, put bread on your family’s table and helped your customers solve their problems.

Now picture yourself making this sale. Just like you imagine a golf shot in your mind before actually swinging the club, see yourself selling your product.

Reacquire that feeling of accomplishment, a mental high that only sales people experience. Now … go knock on that door and Be the Ball!

“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”

Henry Ford (1863-1947)
American industrialist, inventor

Why a System?

Once I was in the field training a new sales rep, and we didn’t get the sale. As we were driving back to the office, I asked him what, if anything, he would have done differently. He gave me a blow-by-blow account of how he would have done this first, this last and changed the way I did this. I asked him why, and he was proud to inform me that he was good at reading his customers and in his opinion, they would have responded better to the changes. I just looked at him and smiled. Maybe your right, I said, but I do the same thing the same way every time.

Why not just wing it? Over the years, sales reps have told me how they just treat each potential customer as they come. They “play it by ear.”

I compare doing a sales presentation with starring in a Broadway play. I have my lines, I’ve memorized them and I do them the same way every night. By doing it this way, I get better and better at my craft. If something is not working, I can figure out the problem easier this way, too.

Plus, a system assures that you’re covering all of the bases, all of the time. A good system is designed to walk you through the sales process, with every step specifically designed to cover individual selling points.