Is it the Price or the Cost?

How to Overcome the Price Objection

I’m surprised so many sales people still have problems with objections on price. The reason is that when you hear, “Your price is too high…” it is really not about Price; it is about “Value.”

When the prospect objects to your price, they feel that the value of the product or service is LESS than the amount of money you are asking. So, how do you handle this objection at the close? Well, if you’ve done your job properly - you don’t! This is something you have to do throughout your entire presentation.

The sale will take place when the prospect feels the value of the product is equal to or higher than the cost. Here are three quick ideas on building more value. Don’t try to overcome the price objection: avoid it!

1. Be proud of your higher price.
2. Is it the Price or the Cost?
3. Build the value of processes and people

Be proud of your higher price - Your prices are higher because the value of your product is higher. If you have higher prices than your competition, don’t hide it; boast about it. Then back it up with better quality and service.

Help the customer understand the difference between the Price and the Cost.

Example:
Prospect: “That’s high! It’s too much.”

Salesperson: “Are you referring to the PRICE or the COST?”

Prospect: “What?”

Salesperson: “If you are referring to the price; the amount you pay me right now, then yes; it is about 12% higher than our
competitors. However, if you are referring to the cost, that’s a different story.

Prospect: “What do you mean?”
Salesperson “The cost is the Total Value of doing business with me and ABC Software. The cost is that our programs prevent
intrusions from beyond the firewall, saving our clients hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. The cost is that our
system has NEVER been breached; while our nearest competitor’s systems are compromised once a month. The cost is
the money your business loses when you have to shut down all of your overseas operations for two days due to failed
security. Yes, our price is a little higher, but when it comes to cost—they have us beat!”

Now, this is not an off-pat answer.

It is to help you begin to think differently about the price objection. Also, remember the golden rules for selling anything: You must first uncover a problem that exposes the need, then present the solution to the problem and finally ask for action. When you uncover all the problems that you solve, they should add up to be a whole lot more than the cost of the solution.

Build the value of processes and people behind your product or service.

Sales Person: “As you can see, we make our primary gears out of titanium while others use regular metal. Of course, this costs more,
but we know that the highest quality parts, makes for the highest quality engine.”

Another example

Sales Person: “All of our service people are MCSD Certified. That costs us a lot more, but we also have the finest service record in the world.
We felt it was better to explain our higher price one time, rather than have to make excuses for poor service over and over.
Don’t you agree?”

If you build enough value in your presentation, the prospect should be thinking that the cost is significantly higher than it actually is; they should think your real price is a bargain!

The equation to eliminate the price objection: Value over Price equals sales!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

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Hi there,

Do you or your sales people often take the knocks to heart?

Maybe your team lack that ongoing motivation to keep on going and working through the numbers and not taking each sales opportunity as a separate event?

Well, here is a useful acronym that you and your sales people can use. Use it every time you cannot get through to that decision maker, every time someone says no or just if you feel a little down.

SWSWSWSW

“What’s that?!”

I hear ya!

Here’s what it stands for:

SOME WILL

SOMEONE’S WAITING

Let me take you through this:

SOME WILL

Some people will want to buy your product or service. The match between their wants and what you can offer will be a perfect match and a sale will be made.

SOME WON’T

Some people will just not buy your product.

Whether that is down to your approach, your product or service, timing, money, ozone layer..

SO WHAT

Appreciate that some people will and some will not! Analyse when a sale is made and see what went well. When a sale is not made do exactly the
same approach and learn from the experience.

SOMEONE’S WAITING

Someone out there is waiting for your product or service.

If you are selling phones, it’s the next person through the door. If you are selling cars it’s the next person in your showroom, if you are selling recruitment services it’s your next sales presentation - the bottom line is that there will ALWAYS be someone waiting for you to sell to them.

It’s your job to take each opportunity as a separate entity and to start again.

Remember SWSWSWSW and it will focus your mind onto the next potential sale.

Until next time, happy selling!

Sean

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_______________________________

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training International

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

How to Qualify the Decision Maker on a Cold Call

One of the many challenges sales people face in setting appointments on the telephone is qualifying the prospect, which has become a major issue and causes tremendous amounts of lost income and time.

I believe the main problem for this is because most sales people still have a bit of the old Smile and Dial mentally.

It is out of fear that sales people fail to properly qualify or identify the true decision maker.

As an example:
A sales person goes through two dozen cold calls, gets hung up on a few times and finally gets a person on the telephone who sounds like he will listen and whose “title” says he or she may be the Decision Maker - that’s it! Why mess this up? The moment the “good sounding” person gets on the telephone; just set the appointment and get off as soon as possible. This type of shove your story down the throat of anyone who will listen is part of the old-school telemarketing pitch mentally.

Also, many sales people are afraid to ask to verify the Decision Maker because they do not want to introduce such a “buying” question so early in the conversation. To ask such a direct question so early in the call also exposes the true reason the sales person is calling. “Do you make the buying decisions for shipping services for your company?” That question exposes that you are calling to sell shipping services and many sales peoples are still under that outdated idea to try and hide, disguise and delay their identity and true purpose. They are still trying to bait-the-prospect along; to keep them on the telephone until they can get to the “good part” of the pitch, when the prospect can hear some benefits.

Once again, those days are over!! Be professional and you will set more quality appointments with more qualified prospects.

The best way to qualify the Decision Maker in a cold call is simple: ask the prospect if they are the person who actually makes he decision or makes the purchase of whatever it is that you sell. And do this regardless of the person’s job title or other potential things that signify the prospect may be the true Decision Maker.

In other words, let’s say you sell help desk management software, and your sales model says specifically that it is the “Help Desk Manager” who is the Decision Maker which is usually true. STILL, you should ask everyone; regardless of title if they make the decision. And the reason for this is not only to qualify the prospect technically, but to qualify the prospect psychologically as to their attitude toward you and what you do.

You must ask the prospect if they are the Decision Maker but also explain exactly what you do.

For example, if you sell security management software, you can’t just ask, “Do you make the decisions on software?”

Depending on exactly what you do, the decisions about the product or service can be made by someone else.

Be complete and direct:

Sales Person:
“Yes, Hi Mrs. Prospect, I’m Jo Bloggs from Help Desk Systems and we help companies manage help desk calls across multiple platforms. Do you purchase enterprise wide help desk management software for ABC Financial?”

Here’s another example:

Sales Person:
“I help independent business owners with inventory management. As the owner, do you also make all the decisions on your inventory management and costs?”

Explain exactly what you do and ask the prospect if they handle it and you will qualify the Decision Maker!

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Website:
www.mtdsalestraining.com

Click here for our Telesales Training services

If you know anything about me and MTD Sales Training, then you know that I do not subscribe to the theory of a canned “telephone sales script.”

In fact, I constantly talk about and teach that you must have a telephone sales presentation that is well PLANNED but certainly NOT CANNED.

It is not so much about the exact words you use, rather as the method, approach and the understanding you possess of what you are doing. It’s all about having a framework in place.

However, with that disclaimer firmly in place, I must say that there is one thing you can actually say that, when added to a business-to-business call, and even some consumer calls, will radically and instantly increase your effectiveness on the telephone.

Before I give you these couple of magic words, let me explain why they work, because actually it is this understanding and this empathy for the customer that is ultimately why this will help you be more successful.

First, understand that customers want to know that they are important.

They want to be important to you and your company and they want VIP treatment. Every customer and potential customer has an inner desire, perhaps need, to know that you and your company deeply values them and their business.

The second thing to understand is that the best way to help the customer feel important is for YOU to be someone important. The more of an important person you are and you are in your company, the more important the customer will feel.

Imagine calling a software vendor to possibly purchase a Microsoft software application and the sales assistant handling your call, says, “Hold on a moment.” Then a voice comes on the line and says, “This is Bill Gates, and I thought it best that I handle YOUR call myself.”

You would have to be impressed!

The main problem that occurs when you come across as a run of the mill, everyday, low level telemarketer, is that it makes the customer feel like they are not very important.

That they are just another number.

I mean, if you are one of the least essential people in your company; if you are on the bottom of the organizational chart and you are handling their account, then just how much does your company value the customer?

You must project the image as a very important person in your company and in your industry. Now, as sales professional, we know that the sales person indeed IS the most important person in the company, but the customer dose not usually feel that way.

So, the question is how can you present an image as being the “BIG DOG” without misrepresenting your position or true occupation?

If you can project the image of “Bill Gates,” within the first few seconds of the cold call, your customer will feel important, and the more important the customer feels, the more it will dramatically and instantly increase the likelihood that they do business with you.

So, with that explanation let me give you a phrase that will do this very effectively.

“I thought I’d call you personally.”

That’s it.

Just add this line to your introduction.

“I thought I’d call you personally,” with a little bit of emphasis on the word personally.

It might look like this:

“Yes, Mr. Prospect. Steven Mills with ABC Software. Mr. Prospect, I thought I would call you personally. You see, with the latest computer virus attack, many mid-sized corporations….”

You will be shocked and amazed at what this does.

First it gives the immediate impression that you may have a slew of people or subordinates who usually make these calls for you. And if you think about it, that is actually the case all around the word today.

Businesses have largely taken to outsourcing their cold calling or more aptly put, they have taken to “down sourcing” their cold calling; assigning the duty to low level telemarketers or telemarketing firms, many in countries where English is a second or third language.

It is very likely that the customer gets calls from someone OTHER than the principal.

But not this time! NO!

This customer is too important for you and your company to allow any one other than the main head honcho him or herself to make the call —– YOU called personally!

“Yes, Lisa Johnson with ABC Widgets, and I thought I would give you a call personally Mrs. Prospect — do you have a quick minute?”

Call personally and watch your appointments and sales rise!

Sean

Check out our telesales training courses

_______________________________

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

Telephone:
0800 849 6732

Website:
http://www.mtdsalestraining.com