Another week goes by and another dozen stories of businesses discounting prices (or being asked to do so by their prospects or clients) appear. This week we heard about a few examples:
- a business being asked by a prospect to ‘give us a better price because you are doing a few things with us’,
- a business being told by a client, midway through a project, that ‘they would love to keep on working with them but competitor XYZ can now do it for 25% less because they can bring in cheaper consultants from overseas ’, and
- another business being asked to give a client a lower price now on a project ‘because there is so much work coming your way after this project’ with no guaranteed projects scoped or signed off as yet
Do any of these examples ring a bell? Most likely.
We thought it was timely to share again this post from last year:
One of the most widely reported reasons for a sale to stall is price. Salespeople often get stuck in the price conversation that only leads to the selling organisation discounting their offer, or the prospect going with another provider. But it needn’t be this way.
Clients and prospects get into these conversations because there’s nothing else for them to perceive as value besides the number next to the dollar sign.
The price is an arbitrary figure with no inherent value in itself; it’s just a number and means absolutely nothing until it is made relative to something of value. Clients don’t see a price, they see and look for value.
Our mission as salespeople is to find out what value means to each of our clients. To do this, we need to ask questions and move to discussions centred on effectiveness (how much better they can do), efficiency (how much more they can do), risk mitigation (what they stand to lose if they don’t do something) and total cost of ownership (what it costs them to do what they are doing now). Then we can begin to move away from the default price conversations so many salespeople find themselves in.
From the first contact with the prospect all the way through the buying journey, salespeople need to ensure client conversations are about value, not price.
The following 6 tips will help you design client solutions that will appeal to the majority of prospects’ hot buttons, including return-on-investment, profitability, and time and money savings.
- Sell in profits: Show them how much they will make or save as a result of your solution
- Show the return-on-investment (ROI): Include a case study that is relatable for that client and demonstrates a tangible ROI
- Determine the benefits and relevant risk mitigation then tie dollars to these elements: Show the prospect/client what it costs them now to do business the way they currently do it, then show them how your solution can deliver more and better value and mitigate risk over what it currently costs them; Highlight how much better off they will be taking on your solution and working with you
- Compare a one-time investment vs. long term strategy or savings they can have with you
- Offer a payment plan to make your solution more affordable over time
- Become a problem-solver and problem preventer, a solution provider for your prospects and clients
Remember everybody lives by selling something.
Related topics
How to avoid the discount trap?
12 things we’ve learned so far about Selling Better in a 21st Century world
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