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Now more than ever, the “I can’t afford it” objection is going to be heard. That’s either because some businesses are struggling, or it’s because people feel the need to be extra careful with cash flow. Both of these are understandable, but does that mean you should lower your prices to keep sales coming in?
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Saturday Sales Tips
"Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get." - Warren Buffet
 
Morning ,

I do hope that this email finds you, your family and friends in good health and good spirits. By now, I hope you are well-settled into new ways of working and new work routines?

Most of you, I know, will be doing ok. By definition, if you’re interested enough in ways to improve your business and sales performance to subscribe to these newsletters you’re probably a positive person who’s looking to move forward.

But don’t be surprised if every now and then you find that things suddenly "hit you". Even the most upbeat and energetic of us are operating in completely uncharted waters at the moment. I’ve been incredibly busy over the last week and I didn’t really get the chance to take stock until last evening. When I did, it was quite overwhelming how much I’ve had to change and the effort that’s been required.

It’s ok to feel like that now and again - in fact, it’s probably key to acknowledge how much we’ve all been through and the changes we’ve had to make. Take some time to recognise that you’ve done an incredible job so far. Acknowledge that things are scary and that we’re not going to be able to win every battle at the moment. But also take some time to reflect on the fact that you’re still here, that you’re doing ok, and that you are not letting the circumstances get on top of you.

I had a call from a client earlier this week with an issue that I think a lot of us will be facing over the next few weeks or months - pressure on prices. Now more than ever, the "I can’t afford it" objection is going to be heard. That’s either because some businesses are struggling, or it’s because people feel the need to be extra careful with cash flow. Both of these are understandable, but does that mean you should lower your prices to keep sales coming in?

I made a video about price objections a short while ago as part of my "Simple Answers to Sales Questions" series that you can see here:

But look, unless you’re an active client I can’t know exactly how your business is faring at the moment, and the decision on pricing has ultimately got to be yours alone. However, what I’d really discourage you from doing is simply making cuts across the board. Instead, let’s look at some ways you can handle a price objection.

Let’s remind ourselves why we get objections when we introduce the price of a product or service to a prospect. Objections happen because:

  • You haven't understood your prospect’s wants or "pain points" properly;
  • You haven’t made clear the return on the investment (or outcome) they are going to get from working with you; or
  • They are just trying it on because they always like to feel they’ve made a good deal.

In the current circumstances, we need to be ready for this and prepare. In order to do that you must have taken the time to get to know them and understand what they are looking to achieve. If we do that well, then putting a business case to them that justifies your headline pricing is a lot easier.

You should also make sure that you practice those responses before you pick up the phone (or hit the Zoom call!) so that you can respond fluently and confidently.

Here are 5 ways you can overcome being told your price is too high.


1. Make sure you go back and reaffirm the understanding of the deal
This is all about how well you got to know your client during the prospecting and initial sales phases.

If you got to know them and their pain points, you’ll be able to refer back to those old conversations. Reminding them, preferably using their own words and descriptions, how difficult the problem is that they’re facing will reinforce the value in your solution.

What you are offering is the ability to remove that pain. The price becomes a smaller concern when compared to the "relief" that you can bring.

2. Listen and try to understand where the prospect is coming from
And I don’t just mean that in a trite, sales-y way. I mean really get to understand what their objection is all about. Instead of responding to them with facts or testimonials or jumping straight in with a discount, why not ask them a question?

Try something like:
"Suzy, thanks for telling me that. What is making you feel that way?"

Then use the ultimate sales trick… shut up and listen!

There’s a saying that clients of mine become very familiar with - seek to understand before you seek to be understood. It’s a bloody powerful tool, and you need to use it!

In most cases, the problem isn’t about your price, it’s that the prospect doesn’t perceive you (or your service or product) as being worth that much money.

They haven’t seen enough value to make them simply sign on the dotted line. You need to ask them why this is and you need to pay close attention to the answer. Use your knowledge of body language (if you’re doing a video call, which I recommend you do for closing meetings) and your emotional sales intelligence to tell you whether they simply can’t afford your price full stop, or if it’s a lack of value in your offering.

Oh, and if you don’t feel like you have good body language interpretation skills or your emotional sales intelligence needs a boost, drop me a line and let’s talk about how I can help you with those.

3. After figuring out their price range, ask them to be specific
This is a follow-up to the point above. You need to make the prospect work a little bit here. Hit them with a question like:

"Can I ask, Phil, how much were you expecting my service to cost?"


Or perhaps: "How far apart are we from a pricing perspective?"

Ask them to be specific to see what the difference is. Once you know that, you can absorb it and it will help you to know what to do next.

Remember, most of the time the objection is surrounding a trust or value issue. By continuing to question and listen we continue to build trust and rapport, and we can use that knowledge to show how our solution is more valuable for them than they may have realised.

4. Clarify what success looks like to your prospect
If you feel like you have built a good rapport this can be a very powerful tool to get the prospect to reflect on value.

You could go for a direct approach, such as: "What would make you feel that the solution I have put together for you is worth investing £X for?"

We’re trying to find out (and get them to remind themselves) what success looks like for them. Or, putting it another way, what does failure look like? What’s the worst decision they could make?  

Effectively, would spending just a couple of thousand (or even hundred) quid less be worth the risk of having a host of problems and not removing the pain?

By using questions, you can steer your prospect towards visualising what success (and failure) looks like, and that makes it a lot easier for them to see the impact of not using you and your service. Imagine investing £1000 or £2000 less and having a host of problems, how would that make them feel?

5. If your prospect still feels this way about price, look for a solution
Let’s face it, if they are haggling about price then it’s actually a really positive sign - they are close to agreeing to a deal! If they didn’t really like you and your products then you wouldn’t have got to this stage. It’s always important to remember that.

Why? Because I still don’t think you should drop your headline price unless it’s an absolute last resort. Those of you who have been following me for a long time know that I’m very allergic to the word "discount"!

Think about how you can increase the value perception of the prospect without cutting your price. In the current climate, thinking out of the box can make the difference between closing a profitable deal and doing bad business just for the sake of not losing a sale. If you do offer something, make sure you get something in return.

How about offering extended support or warranty options or some extra units or an upgrade? But also get their agreement that they will allow you to use them as a case study or testimonial? In that way, they feel they’ve "won" (they’ve got extra) and you get some excellent content for your next prospects!

There are plenty of innovative ways you can find to work with the client. At this stage of the process, don’t just stand your ground belligerently, but neither should you fold on price - after all, you’ve been spending the last bit of time justifying why your price is good value! Don’t throw that all away now.
 
 
If you’re struggling to come up with something that could work for your business, service or product, why not drop me a line and let’s see if we could work together to come up with some awesome strategies you can use.

I hope you found that useful. Let me know about your experiences of price objections and how it’s going in the current situation. You can always drop me an email to hello@jameswhite.business or get hold of me via all the usual social channels - including YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. Just search for "jameswhitesales".

Have a good weekend, don’t feel too overwhelmed, and keep doing all the good stuff. Best wishes from my family to yours,


James

www.jameswhite.business
Sales Trainer and Mentor

I specialise in working with successful service businesses who want even greater sales success.

 
 
 
 

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