Browse Tag

price discounting

The Price Trap

SQC smallProblem: One of the most frequent complaints we hear from business owners, sales managers and salespeople is the following: “Price is the primary focus of the sale these days–all of our prospects want the lowest price.” It starts out innocently enough. Buyers lead with questions and comments like these: “How much is it? Can you give me a quote?” As the sales discussion proceeds it gets more intense: “That seems like a lot.” or “Why is it so expensive?” or “I saw it for less.” Salespeople often respond by cutting price thus giving away margins and commissions. read more

The Incumbent Strikes Back

SQC smallProblem: The deal was consummated and Troy had finally displaced his number one competitor at an important account.  Having received a promise that the initial order would be sent the following week, he departed, congratulating himself on his good fortune and ability to land the tough ones.  Then, several days later, he received a voice mail message from his new account.  From the tone of his contact’s voice, he immediately knew something was wrong.  Apologetically, the client told Troy that when the competitor found out that they had lost the business, they reacted with decisiveness and lowered the price significantly.  The result was predictable.  The initial order was cancelled and the incumbent retained the business.  Having been blindsided, Troy was at a loss for what to do.  His company was unwilling to match the new price and he “lost” the deal.  To add insult to injury, his contact was too embarrassed to return his phone calls. read more

Closing More Deals at the End of the Quarter

SQC smallProblem: Steve called us the other day, frustrated with what he called the usual “end of the quarter scramble.”  In an effort to make their numbers at the end of every quarter, his reps were resorting more and more to pricing concessions to get business closed.  What was worse, Steve felt that many of his company’s customers had begun to expect these discounts and were waiting until the end of the quarter to place all but their most critical orders.  In the last several quarters, nearly 60% of their deals were closed in the last week of the quarter and the trend was getting worse.  The results were becoming disastrous to the bottom line and Steve usually had no idea of whether his group was going to make quota. read more

Building Valued Relationships With Your Top Customers

SQC smallProblem: Sales is a mystery to many people. Why has that “superstar” you hired a few months ago failed to produce? What happens in that foggy area of the sales cycle between the initial meeting and when the order is received (hopefully by you, but often when your competitor gets it)? What’s really going on there anyway? Why do customers give their business to someone else, when clearly you have the best value proposition? Why are sales forecasts nearly always totally out of whack with reality? Why do most companies only “hope” that they’ll make their numbers, instead of actually controlling the result? read more