by Jacques Werth
Most salespeople avoid answering the price question until after they have built value in the eyes of the prospect. How do you feel about a salesperson who dodges your questions about price when you are the buyer? Most prospects know exactly what the salesperson is doing and they resent it. That resentment ends in too many “I have to think it over” results.
At the beginning of the sales process many prospects ask about price. Most salespeople conclude that price must be very important to that prospect. However, less than twenty percent of major purchases (excluding commodities) go to the low price supplier.
Most of the top sales producers have a very different attitude when a prospect asks about price. They respond without hesitation, and give the prospect an authentic price range. Example: “Depending on exactly what you want, the price range is between $16,000 and $24,000. Are you able and willing to buy within that range?”
Top sales producers understand that most prospects who ask about price only want to know whether the price is in the ballpark of what they can and will pay.
If the prospect does not ask the price question early in the sales process, top sales producers bring it up. They want to know the prospect’s answer to avoid wasting time and emotional stamina on a prospect that is very unlikely to buy.
Author
Saw this and had to weigh in — one of my pat phrases is, “I don’t make a mystery of the price list, please ask any question that you want.”
I’ve been doing this (against the wishes of many of my managers) simply because it makes the whole conversation go much more easily. My current product set is easily three times the average selling price. Our customers and prospects know that, so price is always a lightning rod topic. I’ve never understood why you’d want to “lie” by avoiding the truth and make the stress much worse!
It also has the added benefit of steering the conversation towards the most likely scenario, which you’ve mentioned. Both the salesperson and the customer are qualifying various options, and at least one of the options is terminating the conversation altogether.
I truly want to help my prospects. If that means I use my industry expertise to advise them on a purchase of a different class of product, then that will be my contribution — they’re better for having met with me. If we continue talking about my products, then I’ll know a lot more about how to maximize their investment dollars. In the end I’ll have a superior offer because my full effort will be behind a package they can actually buy.
My take for the past 50 years is to discuss price up front if parameters of need were established.
New to the Internet and have been pleased with results of PRICE right at the top of a sales Page.
A practice I am told is Not the Way….
Chuck and Mike – What you are doing obviously works.
However, I seldom provide free advise. The simple reason is that it is, most often, not followed or appreciated.