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Maximizing Your Price in a Soft Economy
Establishing maximum value for your price is
never easy. In today's volatile economy, it's even more of a
challenge. For most companies, costs are increasing, yet the
ability to pass them along to the customer is fraught with
numerous roadblocks. The customer's response to a price
increase is rarely positive, with the usual line of objections
that go along with it. In addition, there are the concerns that
a competitor's price may undercut yours or that the customer may
choose to go down a different path instead of buying from you at
all. As big as these issues are, they pale in comparison to the
number one roadblock to maximizing your price point: the
confidence of the salesperson.
The main reason why companies do not capitalize on their
potential revenue is because their salespeople do not have the
confidence to ask for and receive the highest price point. If a
salesperson is secure in what they are selling and in knowing
how the customer will benefit from their products/services, then
they will be confident in asking for and getting the desired
price point. The problem is that many times the salesperson
lacks confidence in at least one of these areas, resulting in
their inability to make their sales quota.
To rectify this problem, it's important to examine how the
salesperson first developed a lack of confidence in their
ability to maximize their price points. Generally, it stems
from a sale they perceived to be lost because their price had
been too high. On the surface, their assumption probably
appeared to be correct. However, in reality, it just seemed
that way because the right price-value relationship had not been
established. If the salesperson had executed a proper sales
strategy that allowed both himself and the customer to see the
product's/service's true value, this could have been avoided.
It needs to be communicated that in a B to B environment, the
benefits are to both the buyer and the business they're buying
it for. In a B to C environment, the benefits are to both the
buyer and to the person(s) who will actually use the product or
service. When the salesperson and the customer understand this,
it can help erase the uncertainty that the price may pose.
Let me give you two quick examples. If a person works for a
mega-global company and is buying widgets, he'd have no problem
spending a little on them if he knew he was buying them from a
reputable company that has experience selling to other
mega-global companies. In essence, the customer is looking for
confidence and is willing to pay for it. In a B to C situation,
because the customer doesn't want to look like a fool for their
purchase, they want the salesperson to provide them with enough
emotional benefit to allow them to convey to others that they
made a great decision. In both situations, an inexperienced
salesperson is going to lose the sale if they don't take the
time to use questions that encourage the customer to fully
express their needs. In general, new salespeople often lose the
sale shortly after they've stated their price. Thus, it's only
natural for them to believe that the price was the determining
factor. However, when digging below the surface, the price was
not what prevented them from closing the deal. Rather, they
lost the sale because they didn't ask enough questions to fully
establish the needs of the customer.
Top-performing salespeople ask questions that allow the customer
to elaborate on their needs and then demonstrate their listening
skills by asking appropriate open questions and probing deeper
with great follow-up questions. They use the information that
they learn to better explain how their product or service can be
beneficial to the customer. In my 25 plus years of selling,
I've learned that the customer's real needs, hurts, and wants
don't often surface until you're demonstrated genuine interest
in what their thoughts and goals are. Ironically, this means
that you can throw out their initial comments, as it is rarely
the need they are looking to fill. If you expect to base your
price-value relationship on what you first hear, you'll never
come close to achieving your maximum price point.
In summary, today's economy is full of
opportunities for top performing salespeople to ask really good
questions that get customers talking. This allows both the
customer and the salesperson to see, feel, and understand what
their true needs are. When the salesperson can experience this
across multiple customers, they will begin to develop the
assurance they need to be able to confidently convey the maximum
price point their company expects them to receive.
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", is a sales expert who speaks
to thousands each year on how to increase their sales
profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly
email sales tip or to read his Sales Motivation Blog (http://www.thesaleshunter.com/blog/ ),
visit
http://www.TheSalesHunter.com
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