Tweet

Buyers Tricks

Written by: Richard Mulvey

Article Overview: Buyers are really nice people. That is a broad statement but I truely believe that buyers are nice people after work, but during office hours they can be... well... difficult. Sometimes they will trick you into getting a better deal, watch out for these tricks. If you are a buyer, do not read this article. :-)

Buyers Tricks

Buyers Tricks.

There are a number of techniques that buyers use to get a better deal for themselves. These are mostly tricks and the salesperson must avoid falling for them. I have listed a few of these “Tricks” below so that you can be prepared.

What do you do ....... When the buyer says your product is no good.

Have a number of testimonials about your product. Other customer’s letters stating how good your product is, are a great help when your opponent tries to say it is bad. Develop the habit of collecting letters of praise.

Make sure your product knowledge is good, so that you are able to handle the accusations with authority.

Offer to prove to your opponent how good your product is, by demonstration. Or Guarantee that it does what you say it does

What do you do ....... When the buyer says "That's it", or "Take it or leave it".

Ignore it and carry on. Start using "What ifs". "What if I could persuade my boss to extend your credit to 90 days?" Don't say "Sorry, no deal" (unless you are certain he is bluffing) it's too risky.

Add new issues to the negotiation. Try to make the "pie" bigger.

What do you do ....... When the buyer agrees to a price and then adds on extras.

"Okay then, we have agreed that I will buy 50 industrial vacuum cleaners at the discounted price, I am sure you'll be able to include the conversion kits at the same price, won't you?"

Don't drop the defences. You may be so pleased to get the deal, that the defences are down. There is no need to add anything after the deal is struck, so don't do it. (Don’t give anything away, always trade it)

The best response would be, "I'm afraid not, but you are right to consider the conversion kit as well and I will be able to get them for you at a considerable discount, if you want 50 units."

What do you do ....... When the buyer uses the "bulk discount" tactic.

You agree a price for 10,000 units and then he orders 500 "to start"

Don't fall for it, it's just a tactic. “I will have to charge you the full price for 500 units but I will be happy to include the 500 when I calculate the discount on the 10,000 you are going to purchase.”

What do you do ....... When the buyer keeps you waiting.

This tactic is designed to put you off. You should disarm it by simply being pleased that he was late. Try "I am glad the meeting started later, it gave me valuable time to prepare."

As a young salesman I remember buyers would sometimes ignore me when I walked into their office, or pretend to be finishing an important document that is obviously more important than I was. Again, this is just a tactic. I soon learnt a very good way of getting their attention. Instead of just sitting, or standing quietly, I would walk round their office, looking at the pictures or picking up their golf trophies (or anything else that was lying around). The buyer soon lost interest in the “important” work they were doing and we could then get on with the meeting.

Well trained buyers are good at these, and all sorts of other techniques, to get a better deal from the salesperson. The new salesperson will be pleased to get out of the office with an order but we must all remember that the product or service we are offering is good value at the full price. Don’t fall for the tricks.

Related Articles
  Success Isn't Magic
  Want to increase sales? Think Halloween
  What To Do When Your Job Search Isn’t Working
  Business Brokers - How to Deal With Them As a Buyer?
  Why Most Sales Training Programs Do Not Produce Results

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Are You Complying with the FTC? - A lot online marketers will run to Cyprus and other Islands to do their businesses. FTC rule or no rule the Internet is a global thing and still a wild wild west. Buyers should be careful and do due diligent before buying anything online
Re: Are You Complying with the FTC? - [quote="ideasuniversity":2shwf6gr]A lot online marketers will run to Cyprus and other Islands to do their businesses. FTC rule or no rule the Internet is a global thing and still a wild wild west. Buyers should be careful and do due diligent before buying anything online[/quote:2shwf6gr] Exactly. The consumers should have enough common sense to check out a program or product before buying it if they're worried it might be a scam. There's plenty of resources available to aide them in the process. But, unfortunately, everyone must suffer regardless.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - Hi, Tradeshows are attracting different types of people. First, the visitor, which is the main reason of putting it on. Visitors come from all types of background: Buyers, prospective buyers, people who had a business and failed, directors, shopkeepers and even the public. Secondly there are people who just like to meet new people, that is the best place to be. Exchange of business cards, make new contacts for future use. Thirdly, the exhibitors are mixing with one another either help one another or just want to fine out the newest trend. It is also a good place to meet with competitors and learn from their strategies. Finally, there are numerous seminars with excellent speakers, covering a wide range of information. Taking these points in consideration, they are beneficial. Of course, not every exhibitor has the same success.
Re: need pricing help please - I think you could be selling yourself short. Plus you may be focused on the wrong things when it comes to pricing your products. What will your buyers be able to do or get as a result of your product? How much would that be worth to them? Buyers will gladly pay over $100 for a one page report because it tells them exactly what to do to overcome a specific difficult to solve problem. Even when that information can be found free elsewhere. I know it's hard not to compare your eBook to a physical book. Yet, that may not be a fair comparison. Another thing to consider is the perceived value when a product that sounds great comes with a very low price. Some potential buyers will doubt the value of your product because the price seems way too low for the result it promises. There's a quick and easy way for you to discover the right price though. Open a Google Adwords account ($5) and then set-up a multi-variant test for different price points. If you have a decent amount of traffic you'll quickly discover the best price.
Pre-Registering for Events - Hi Kevin! You have gotten some great advice on this thread. I think a combination of all the above, without sounding trite, would be appropriate. Your marketing should be very targeted and very consistent, once a week or whatever in order to lead up to the event. Take a tip from the information marketing world, and send them new notes about what they are going to learn and how its going to change their lives. Buyers specifically want to do 4 things 1) make more money 2) save more money 3) alleviate some pain or stress 4) reduce their workload (or minimize their efforts) (sounds like a great bunch eh?? ;0)) I would also mirror Beat's suggestion. When we are hosting events for clients we do take credit card numbers, and attendees are told that they will be charged a fee for no -shows. (This helps maintain the integrity of the event). The rate can change depending on the event topic or something. We typically charge $99 for no shows so its enough to get people to honor their commitment. ($25 and they didnt care. ;0)) Your client could also promote the expert a bit more, right now their seminars are a bit bland from a 'who are we going to hear from..." perspective. J


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Time management for DIY PR

Reverse Mentoring

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.