Price – It’s like the weather!

When strangers are meeting for the first time, they try to find some common ground to talk about. Kids, sport, and of course the weather are big, because there is the greatest chance of the other party being able to contribute to the conversation.

Price is a bit like the weather. It’s a common denominator – everyone relates to it. That’s why your customers bring up price unusually early in the sale: they have a degree of comfort about it. They might not know what a Content Management System does, but they do know that 12 occurs after 11 and before 13.

So when you are selling today, you have to understand this pricing mindset and deal with it confidently by refocusing the customer on what they need to know before you move on to price.

PRICE ATTACK!

What sets today’s successful sales professionals apart is their mindset. They have to make the decision about themselves, and ask: “How assertive am I going to be in this situation? Am I going to enter into this early price discussion, which is where the customer wants me to go, or am I going to trust my sales process and my product, and play this out the way I want to do it?”

In any given market, there will be those individuals who only want to focus on price. As part of your preparation going into the negotiation, you need to decide whether you are prepared to play that pricing game or not. Remember, no buyer is going to say “Yes” to your first offer!

IT’S REALLY ABOUT VALUE!

Recently, we had a client who was dealing with one of the major airlines. We asked whether he had closed the deal. His response? “They haven’t said ‘No’; they just can’t decide.” Sound familiar? There might be a few reasons for this, but one of the primary ones is value.

If customers can’t see your value smacking them in the face, then they probably won’t buy.

Value is the lubricant that is oiling the wheels of today’s successful salespeople. As the seller, you need to focus on the different components that make up your offer and decide where the added value is and where the variables are. If you haven’t done this exercise recently, or at all, then do it now! Bring it up in your weekly sales meeting. Ask your Manager, “What is our value for customers relative to our competition?”

If your Manager doesn’t have the answers, go further afield. Ask your marketing people, the Directors, the product specialists – and compare answers. You will come up with a value set – sometimes we call this a ‘value bank’ – that will help customers to see the value you are delivering.
Value means different things to different customers. A dying man in a desert will value a glass of water much more than you value the glass of water in front of you right now. Keep that in mind during your negotiations, and ask, “What value do we have that will work for this particular customer?”

Our new book The Natural Sales Evolution gives you tips on how to best articulate your value to customers.

To experience  a full workshop workshop dedicated to selling your value, call the Natural Training office on 0207 043 1582.