Tweet

Are Customers begging you for discounts?

Written by: Trent Leyshan

Article Overview: When a customer begs you for a discount you can simply reply with yes or no, or you can employ a strategy to address the request and reposition your offering in a more valuable light.

Are Customers begging you for discounts?

When a customer begs you for a discount you can simply reply with yes or no, or you can employ a strategy to address the request and reposition your offering in a more valuable light.

How? By asking why it's important to the customer they receive a discount?

Their response will tell you what they're really seeking and why it's important to them.

A request for a discount is a "stated" or surface level need, but there is always a silent undercurrent motivating the request beneath the surface.

Here are a few examples:

Stated need: I would like a discount on this product.

Unstated need:

• I can't afford it - but would like to try and buy it anyway.
• I think you're charging too much - give me peace of mind
• I can get this cheaper somewhere else - I'm competitive and like to shop around first.
• I don't trust you - I really don't trust you!
• I love a bargain - I want a sense of accomplishment.

What's motivating the request for discount? This is critical to understand before responding. How you address the request and frame your response will determine your potential to make the sale. If you have a structured selling approach it will mean leading your customer through your sales process and ensuring your customer has buy-in at each stage before proceeding to the next.

Getting to the heart of the unstated need is the tricky part, this is because the customer is uncomfortable revealing themselves too much, particularly to a stranger, so this is were building rapport and developing a sense of commonality becomes essential. The most effective way to do this is to understand what factors are motivating their buying decision.

What is really important to your customers should be important to the salesperson. This is called demonstrating "empathy", and it takes a thoughtful approach to selling.

1. Does the customer have all the available funds to make the purchase? Maybe they really want to buy it but can't quite afford it? In this instance, perhaps a simplified version of your offering is more relevant and they can upgrade later. Alternatively, you could explore structuring the payment terms - that is, finance or in-house payment plan.

2. If your customer thinks you are charging too much, then explain all the extra features and after sale service you offer, and how important that is to them. If you don't have any of these services in place, perhaps think of similar ideas that will benefit your business and customers.

3. If your customer can buy the same product cheaper elsewhere, and this is true, ask yourself why? Do you need to rethink your pricing and tweak your selling-process?

4. If the customer doesn't trust you, there is probably good reason, either directly related to your own personal communication style, or perhaps your company's reputation, or a negative past experience. If this is the case, you need to know exactly what is driving their thinking, and then package more value accordingly.

If you customer just loves a bargain, again sell them more value. The most effective way to package more value is to offer something of high perceived value and low cost to the business. This can be used effectively to overcome the customers need to feel special and come away feeling a sense of accomplishment.

All of these things are important to your customer, so as a sales-person you must make it important to you. How? Ask them, yes it's that simple. Engage your customers in meaningful conversations by taking a genuine interest in them and their best interests.

If all of your customers are begging for discounts there is probably good reason for it.

Is your offering priced in line with fair-value - that is, market value and competitive forces?

• Are your salespeople communicating effectively in benefit terms?
• Are you salespeople providing customers with all the right information?
• Are your salespeople lacking confidence to lead your customers through a process?
• Does your sales process need rethinking and restructuring?
• Do you even have a best-practice sales process?
• Are your sales people asking for the business assertively or merely presenting ideas?
• Are you talking to genuine customers or tyre kickers?

There is no right or wrong answer to discounting; the answer lies within your customer's perception. The adage "the customer is always right" is true.

However, the customer's perception may be limited by an unclear understanding of what your value really means. If that's the case, then show them. Talk to them. Engage them. Listen to them. They will tell you everything you need to know about your business and more, including the appropriate strategy to employ when discounting.

Related Articles
  Customers are begging for discounts but we don't want to drop our prices. What selling strategies should I use?
  The relentless search for "tell me what to do"
  Offering Discounts During Slow Times
  Questions On Guest Loyalty
  Real Estate Marketing Strategies - Tips for Creating Success

Article Tags: accomplishment, bargain, building rapport, commonality, empathy, heart, li li, peace of mind, salesperson, stranger, surface level, thoughtful approach, ul type, undercurrent



Related Forum Posts
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
Begging vs entrepreneurship - [quote:1y1j9umy]So maybe the kids trying to raise money for their school team aren't just "begging" or relying on your empathy for donations or sales. [/quote:1y1j9umy] If they're not selling anything, if they're just standing around saying, "Help us out," it might not be begging, but it's certainly not teaching them how to [i:1y1j9umy]earn [/i:1y1j9umy]money. Only how to acquire it from other people who have money to give away. Like I said, if they were selling candybars or cookies or magnets, or [i:1y1j9umy]something[/i:1y1j9umy], I wouldn't have had the thought that I did... which is that they were being taught that it was okay to get something for nothing. That they didnt' need to [i:1y1j9umy]work [/i:1y1j9umy]to acquire money...someone else would provide it. ---And I'm not blaming the kids - I'm blaming the adults who had the kids doing it. IMHO, there should be a better way.
Re: Hi from Greenville, SC - Welcome Philip - from my experience in working with different merchant service providers I've found the following criteria to be important: 1) Price - at the end of the day it's very competitive industry and you don't need to be the cheapest option but you can't be too far ahead of the other guys. Automatic volume discounts are also much appreciated. Ones I've been involved with in the past give you volume discounts only if you apply. 2) Service - are you available when I need you? If I call will you be available and help me right away? If I email will you get back to me quickly? People often don't need service from their merchant service provider. It's one of those things where as long as it's working we tend to forget about you running in the background. But when there's a problem it's usually a big problem because we can't get money so we need fast and good quality service. 3) Integration support. Help people get set up. Even offer to do it for them - now that's a great way you can stand out. The integration support from most merchant service providers is terrible. You're pretty much on your own to figure out how their APIs work. I hope that helps - good luck!
How to Do Great Marketing with (Amost) No Money - I've given this presentation to CEOs many times. Now i can share it with you. But I cannot because I do not yet have 20 posts. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers
Re: Webmasters outsource projects - It looks like a great site Anil, I've seen a few of these freelance site just lately and even signed up for a couple, I get daily emails on the latest opportunities available. I'd advise anyone who is looking for freelance work to sign up, there are some good jobs going begging! Carol


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

Making the Most of Your Trade Show Experience

How To Be Happy at Work? Acknowledge Yourself

Unspoken Yet Important Rules for Book Proposals

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.