| Our many years of sales training experience, working with top sales professionals, have taught us that a prospect's first objection is usually not the real objection.
Yet what happens when most salespeople ask prospects to buy and are confronted with a price objection? They cave on price. There is danger in price discounting.
What are the dangers?
Dissatisfied customers - Buyers are left with the feeling if they had held out just for a little longer, they could have got an even lower price.
Precedent - The next time that buyer returns, they assume - or demand - a continuance of price discounting. It's a downward spiral.
Trained buyers - Every buyer has a responsibility to get as low a price as possible for their company. Even if a salesperson's price is half their cost, a skilled negotiator is trained to say, "Your price is too high."
Future loss - Customers won on price will eventually be lost on price. Salespeople should not compete on price. They should compete on value.
Not sustainable - When price is discounted, profit margins shrink and corporate profitability is reduced. If price discounting continues long enough, the company goes out of business.
There's no way we can over-emphasize this.
So what's the best-selling practice for salespeople to use in the face of price objections?
To our workshop graduates or readers of Roy Chitwood's book, World Class Selling, see the Partnership Agreement form to review how to overcome price and stall objections.
Here's the structure...
Acknowledge the objection with a choice of "I see", "I understand", or "I can appreciate that."
Repeat the features previously presented.
Add a new Feature - Benefit - Reaction to add value to the proposal without changing the price.
Close again with the words, "If we ________________, can you think of any reason why we shouldn't ___________________?
Good luck and good selling.
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