Browse Tag

price

When a Salesperson Should Stop Selling Value

SQC smallProblem:  Recently, I had a conversation with a sales engineer about his frustration with trying to convince a prospect the price of his equipment was worth the value.  His prospect is convinced that he is selling high quality, efficient equipment with a large ATBM (Average Time between Maintenance).  Though his prospect faces frequent interruptions due to breakdowns, the prospect continues to buy his competitors’ equipment because their prices are lower.  The prospect continues to tell him that he can’t justify the capital investment needed to buy his equipment. read more

It’s Seldom About Price

SQC smallProblem:  One of the most common objections salespeople get is about price: “That’s a bit more than we were thinking about paying.” “Your prices are kind of high.” “That just doesn’t fit our budget” are typical comments. Salespeople tend to be very aggressive in their attempts to overcome price objections and begin dropping their price to get the sale. And, more often than not, once the price issue has been “resolved,” another objection comes to the surface. Sometimes it seems to be a never-ending circle of objections from the prospect. read more

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

Show Me the Money

SQC smallProblem: Why is money so difficult to discuss? Salespeople frequently hear from prospects that budget is “no problem” at the beginning of the sales call.  However, once things start to get close, the story often changes.  We’re told that we “have to sharpen our pencil,” “get more competitive,” or offer “additional discounts.”  Yet, once the sale is won, price seems to evaporate as an issue and pressure is put on the vendor to improve quality or service.  Often we hear from salespeople that money is the number one issue in getting and keeping the business.  “We need to have more competitive pricing, better discount structures or we just can’t compete.”  Sound familiar? read more