My personal view is that too often, we make assumptions that our prospects or customers will automatically be as excited as we are about our solutions.

The reality is that they won’t be, so start from a point of  understanding that they do not know what they don’t know. It is our duty to educate them.

When customers perceive the value of a proposition outweighs the risks, then generally speaking they will go ahead and make the purchase – if they trust you – notice the absence of the word “like” 

Customers will often pay more for added value, which is usually related to one of the “Three Rs”: Reputation/Reliability/Relationship.

Good sales people are able to paint a graphic picture of what is at stake, quantify the value, and help the prospect understand how it will make them feel. 

It’s important to really believe in the value of what you are offering, so that you are better equipped to convince your prospects. If you don’t really believe, then my advice is to find another company to work for, because if you are unsure about the value your product or service can provide, you will project this unconsciously onto your prospects.

Conversely if you are completely convinced that your product or service offers superb value for money then your entire communication, from your voice tone, your eye contact and your gestures will convey ‘VALUE’.

Present your price using the lowest possible denominator:

Break down the price into small chunks, such as cost per use or per week.
“And you can enjoy all those benefits for just $200 a week.”

The smaller the number the more attractive it will be to the prospect. And it helps put a manageable context around the prospect’s possible outlay.

If you are producing a quotation for a product or service that has multiple elements, itemise the cost for each element. This helps to build the value because prospects can see at-a-glance all the elements involved and the individual prices for each element will be lower than the total sum.

Offer the correct solution:

If you have correctly identified the prospects requirements and proposed aligned solutions then the chances are, you won’t be suggesting a ‘Rolls Royce’ version when the customer requires a ‘Mini’.

It’s much more effective to give the prospect something they have asked for and makes it easier for them to compare prices. Once the prospect is satisfied that your prices are pretty much the same, you have created a stronger platform to ‘up-sell’ from.

Focus on the difference:

Focus on the difference between what they say they are willing to pay, and what you are asking for. This reduces the amount in their mind and is another opportunity to highlight the additional benefits they will gain.

For example, “You’ll get all these extra benefits for just (difference in price) a week more than you’re paying at the moment.”

Reduce the price only by changing the proposition:

If you need to lower the price, then change the deal. This can help you to maintain your credibility and justifies the reason for you lowering your price. If you simply comply with their request to match a competitor’s price, you imply that you were asking too much in the first instance. Take out aspects of your proposition to bring the cost within their budget.

Compare initial price with long-term value:

Ultimately, the price of something is what the customer invests now. The cost is what they end up paying in the longer term. A product/service that requires a higher initial investment may be more cost-effective and provide long-term better value for money.

For example, imagine two brands of dishwashing liquid. Brand A costs more to buy initially than Brand B, yet because Brand A is more concentrated, (feature) it washes twice as many plates as Brand B (benefit). So, overall Brand A is actually much better value in the longer term. In fact, if you calculate the investment per ‘plate’ then you have reduced the price to the lowest common denominator.

The core message here is, are you making it easy for your customers to buy from you? Can they see the value? Can they trust you?

Today’s News:

Here’s an opportunity to listen in on a very good live Top Sales Experts Masterclass ……

How the C Level Makes or Breaks Sales Performance
Wednesday March 24th 2010 1:00 PM EDT

“Sales performance is at its lowest for years. We believe it is too easy just to blame the state of the  economy for this disturbing situation.

We will discuss why C-Level executives and sales managers  should not be excluded when looking for the root causes of the performance gap. In consequence  we will  propose  a  top down approach, focusing on executives and sales managers, how to get better sales performance even with tight budgets, for performance improvement initiatives.

Every C-Level executive involved in sales or not, should attend and verify you are not the cause of performance short falls.”

Please accept this free place, with my compliments, and register HERE

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