How many times has a prospect called and said, “Hey, I need somebody to call me back with a price on (fill in the blank)”? And how many times have you been the “somebody” that has to call them back? If you’re like most sales professionals, you already know that the conversation might be over before it starts.
Why is that?
Here’s the reason. Your prospect will always try to make their purchase logical (price), but we know that people buy for emotional reasons (how can this fix a problem for me or help me to do my job better). So, when you call them back and give them a price without getting the scoop, you’re making their decision logical and your product a commodity.
A major part of the foundation of what we teach at Caskey is about intent. Our intent should always be to HELP, not sell something. If our intent is to help the guy who thinks he’s looking for a price, does throwing a number at him really help him solve anything? NO.
What should you do?
- Ask him “Why?” Why is he looking to purchase the product?
- What is the problem he is trying to fix?
- What has he tried to do in the past?
- How long has it been a problem?
- Does he know how much the problem is “costing” him (this is the $64,000.00 question)?
- What happens if he doesn’t fix it?
There are a thousand more questions to ask, but this gets you started. You have to keep your intent in check.
Remember, it’s never really about price for the prospect. It’s a belief issue, belief that they have a problem that has to be fixed, belief that they want to invest money to fix it and belief that you’re the person that can help them do that.
Keeping your intent in check, asking the tough questions and working on the REAL problem will make price almost irrelevant—if you can help them realize that the cost of their problem is more than the price of your solution.
The only way you get to that part of the conversation is not commoditizing yourself by throwing out a price before you have the whole story.
No related posts.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Brooke,
You’ve hit the nail on the head - price is only one aspect of the deal. However, you dodged the bullet when you didn’t tell us HOW to avoid just calling up and providing a quote! A customer who expects to have a 1 minute call with us when we call back needs to have his/her mind expanded. Specifically, this is a great opportunity to ask a set of questions that will reveal to the customer that he/she needs to really understand their problem BEFORE they make a purchase. Oh, and when they do buy, the key is not the price but rather that the product needs to solve their problem.
- Dr. Jim Anderson
The Accidental Negotiator Blog