As a home-based or other small business opportunity or franchise owner and someone who markets your own products and services, you may believe that your ability to make a sale is all about the price tag. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The fact is that prospects will pay just about anything if they believe that what they’re getting for their money is WORTH the cost. Making sure any product or service is perceived as “worth it” is as much about your state of mind as it is solid sales technique.
When it comes to your state of mind, it’s critical above all else that you are confident what you are charging for your products and services is appropriate given the value and benefits provided. If you don’t, you may want to set more realistic prices or find another vocation.
Additionally, you should know that price objection is a bit of a misnomer in most cases because what you’re really encountering is not so much a flat-out "no" as it is some degree of resistance. In fact, many experts would argue that customers who challenge you on price are actually sending you a positive sign and letting you know that they are inclined to buy from you already―if money were no object.
Oftentimes a good salesperson can work with that!
Seen from this new perspective, the final negotiation about price becomes much less intimidating. A prospect’s cost concerns present you with an opportunity to clearly establish and demonstrate the value of what you are offering in a definitive way so that price becomes less of an issue.
So how do you do that?
Although the techniques good salespeople use to establish value in the face of a price challenge are many and varied, there are five key techniques that you will undoubtedly find helpful at one time or another. They are:
- Focus on Benefits, Not Features―Remember that your customer wants to know about the benefits he or she can expect to experience directly as a result of buying your product or service. Take time to reinforce how every feature of what it is you’re selling translates into a real-world payoff for your prospect―personally, professionally, financially, socially or any combination thereof.
- Demonstrate results―Talk specifics about how your product or service stacks up against the competition and how it’s superior. Use photographs and illustrations to help you, if you have them.
- Share Testimonials―Let your most satisfied customers do your selling for you. These are the people who obviously value what it is you are offering for the price you have set. Encourage your prospective customers to talk to your references. Your confidence alone will speak volumes.
- Amortize the Price―If the problem is not so much that your customer can’t afford what you’re selling but overall sticker shock, try breaking the price down into a daily, weekly or monthly cost that will look much more reasonable given the benefits your product or service will provide.
- Assist with Financing―And finally, if what you’re selling is a big-ticket item, then assist your prospect in making manageable payments by providing or guiding them toward financing options whenever possible.
Ultimately, your job as a business owner/salesperson is to prove to your customers that buying from you is a solid and wise decision, one that produces tangible benefits that will then translate into real value for their money. Unless you can demonstrate that value clearly and feel confident doing so, the sad reality is that what you're selling may be perceived as over-priced more often than not.
