In my Twitter activities I came across an excellent post about price objections on Tom Searcy's Hunting Big Sales blog, Price is No Object.
In this post Tom writes, "A lot of the time, however, price is not the only issue and it's merely being used as a smoke screen."
I couldn't agree more. Price often is not the heart of the issue but an indicator that something else is going on. Clients will use the price objection because it's a convenient excuse.
In his article, Tom provides 4 excellent thoughts to help you get control of the price discussion. Check them out here.
I'd add a few more to his:
5. Don't respond right away
Instead, get the prospect to talk more about the objection. Ask, "And what else is of concern?" This does a couple of things: first, it allows you to get all the objections out at once. By doing this you get a more complete picture of what's really going on and can respond accordingly. And second, it gives you some time to think about how you want to respond. It's our tendency to jump in right away, respond to the objection, and move on. But you need to take your time and get the prospect to talk more about it so you can get to the heart of the issue.
6. Don't introduce price too early in the conversation
Price objections often come when you give the price too soon. Before you can talk about price in the sales process, you have to get the prospect to see the value and get them to articulate the value of the solution. When you share the price too early in the conversation, you lose control. You move into the negotiation phase where all conversations going forward are going to focus around price instead of value and outcomes.
7. Focus on selling the value
When you get a price objection, you haven't done a good enough job of selling the value. Go back to the prospect's needs and goals. Get them to articulate what the solution is worth to them. When you get the prospect to see the value of the solution and you put it in financial terms, you get much less resistance on the price.
Keep these 7 tips in mind next time you get a price objection, and you'll be closing more deals at favorable terms for both you and the buyer—without conceding on price.
