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The Price Objection

Written by: John Brennan

Article Overview: "Your price is too high", "Too much", "I can't afford it", "We don't have the budget for it", "I can get it for less from your competitor". These phrases can cause your heart to miss a beat, or can energize you with a shot of adrenalin. If you are prepared for objections, if you know exactly how to manage them, you will begin to welcome them. Read on for tips and techniques to manage objections and turn them into opportunities.

The Price Objection

The Price Objection
Distinguish between price and cost. Price is the amount stated on the price tag. Cost is price minus savings over the lifespan of the product. The price of a college education may be over $100,000, but because of the higher income college graduates can expect to earn, it costs next to nothing.
Avoid giving a price until you are absolutely sure that customers understand all the benefits they are getting. Even then, summarize your proposal before giving the price.
Refer to the price in a positive light, i.e. “an investment”

Probe the price objection;

“Too high compared to what, Mr. Customer?”

“Does that mean that I have failed to demonstrate the value of my proposal or is it that you do not have the budget?”
"Do you have a target price in mind - a cost per user, or a fixed price, a licensing agreement?"

"Are you comparing our CD/training program/whatever to another program you have purchased?" "......to another, competing proposal?" If "yes" then ask
them to lay it out on the table, to see if it is “apples to apples.”
Sometimes price is a smokescreen for some other issue.
"Before we talk more about price, are there any other concerns you
have about our proposal?"
"If I could show you how easy it is to cost-justify our program, would you go ahead today?"
"Besides price, is there anything else standing in the way of us doing business?"
At other times the price objection is not an objection at all, but a buying signal. They have made up their mind to buy, and now want to negotiate. In that case, close the sale;
"Are you ready to move on now and talk money? OK. But first, let me make sure that I have accurately noted your order.........Fine....Yes, the price is firm. Now, is there a purchase order number I should put on the invoice?

If your customer continues to object to the price, you might want to go back a step or two in the sales process. Go back to qualifying. Do the people you are talking to have the money, authority and desire? If they have the money, and if they are authorized to spend it, sell them on your solution to their pain. If they haven't felt the pain, they don't need the solution. If these steps are solid, advancing to the close is a natural next step.

Related Articles
  How To Successfully Handle Objections
  Dealing with Sales Objections: Price
  Handling pricing and delay objections
  Objections are Requests for more Information
  “It is too expensive”

Article Tags: closing, objections, price objection



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