Sales Objection: You’re Too Much Money

You thought the sales call was going well – after all, a discussion is developing about the cost. But, then the prospect tells you that your solution is just too much money!

STOP! Think, where am I in the process and what have I not done?

Assumption
You have done your pre-call preparation. You have qualified this person as a prospect, not a suspect. You have worked to establish rapport, gained the prospect’s attention and developed the opportunity for you to ask questions for the purpose of problem recognition. You made your presentation focusing on benefits, value delivered, and metaphors to create word pictures that increase understanding. As the conversation continues, you have clearly demonstrated that you have clear insight into the current situation, the points of pain, the attributes of an ideal solution and the drivers of buying behavior within the prospect’s organization. And, then, as you move to yet another trial close, the customer states this price objection.

Response
“Oh, why is that?” or “What do you base that on?” you ask and then listen.

If you are told that a similar solution is available from a competitor for far less, you must retrace some steps to establish the value you deliver. Probe first. Understand if this is a “real” comment. Is the competitor really delivering the value and is the nature of that value the same as yours. What about total cost of ownership (TCO) and what role does that play in the comment about cost?

Another option may be to ask: “What, in my presentation, drove you to believe/think/feel/know [that verb is important! Reflect back to the prospect the communication style he chooses to use] that our solution costs too much?”

You want to discover what you have not communicated well – NOT what s/he did not hear. You take the burden of responsibility.

Reasonable people understand switching costs and other drivers of buying behavior that will affect TCO and if that is the nature of the objection, you probably have a buyer to whom you do not need to sell – your role is now that of a negotiator – working on a mutual commitment to a win/win solution.

Your strategy in a price objection is to justify the higher price. Price is never the only reason for objecting. If it were, you could just send a catalogue out with prices and that ends it. You play an important role in the conversation that will lead to understand what the prospect values and how well you can deliver that value. Your strategies could include:

• Break the price down and spread it over the period of the life of the product (could include a discussion of initial and ultimate costs)
• If you have a unique differential advantage, build the justification around the value this uniqueness delivers
• Compare and contrast strategy with competitive offerings and the value differential you deliver
• If the objection came early in your presentation, postpone it until you have time to establish value.

Remember, if the prospect thinks your price is too high, you have not laid a solid foundation of benefit and value.

Of course, this is just an overview of handling objections. Need more help? Click here and let’s discuss how we go about establishing a working relationship.

SALES Series: Handling the objection: “I’m Not Interested”

You are making cold calls. You’ve done your research. This company you’re calling is in your target market. Their web site confirms that they need your equipment to fulfill their mission. But, your company is currently not the supplier. An opportunity. You find a live person with whom to speak and, after they know who you are, they say, “I’m not interested!”

Now, if you have not even begun any probing questions, or even asked for an opportunity to meet with the “right people,” you might respond, “Oh, you’re not interested in, ah, what?” Asked with humility and a touch of inquisitiveness, you have asked a question that can start a conversation that will give you insight in how they currently are meeting the need your product/service fulfills.

Other tactics include asking:

“I understand. How are you handling ___(the need)__ today?”
When they tell you, ask, “What do you like most about ____(product/or company)?”
To that answer ask, “How did you select ____(present supplier)___?”

The key for conversation to continue is that you are mirroring and matching their communication style – people like people who are just like them. You must establish rapport with these questions: not create an enemy. Listen carefully to their speed cadence and mirror it. NOT the accent, the cadence. Is it fast and you could imagine their arms moving as they talk? Is it paced with clear enunciation of the vowel and consonant sounds? Is it slow, methodical – heavy – as if they “feel” their words? Mirror the cadence. You want rapport.

There are several more questions you might be able to ask:

• “What would you need to see or hear to allow me to visit with you further about ___________(the problem)_____?
• What would interest you enough to try us?
• How do we go about establishing a working relationship with ___(their company)____?"

Note: you have not even begun to tell them about the value your solution provides. You will do that when you better understand their need and how well it is currently being met.

Remember the goal of every call is an order, another call or a visit (if appropriate). Keep it conversational but direct. Your attitude must be that you have something of value that can better meet their needs and save them money or improve their processes, or you would not be wasting your time making this call.

If you don’t believe your product or service can best serve their needs…well, that’s a different problem for a different blog!

Looking for coaching, training or consultation about your selling process. Click here.

Leveraging the Power of "So What!"

When a prospects responds with anything resembling "So What!" you know that the value of the feature or attribute you were explaining was not clearly understood.

When a prospects responds with anything resembling "So What!" you know that the value of the feature or attribute you were explaining was not clearly understood.

The "so what" exercise that can help you better understand the value - from the customer's perspective.

Click HERE to find the POWER that the "so what" exercise yields.