"But How Much Does It Cost"?
Russell McGuire
Chief Revenue Officer @ Xage Security | Global Sales Leadership | Mentor
Imagine this: you are on your first, maybe the second conversation with someone who is interested in your product or service. You are doing all the right things, asking the correct questions, building rapport, finding out what their real needs and wants are. Things are going as great as they can ever go until you hear the dreaded question, "So, just exactly how much does this cost?"
All of a sudden you have the deer in the headlight look. You start to fumble and mumble your way through the question.
If you sell an enterprise-style product, you know you do not have enough information to determine the cost or even where to start pricing your solution.
You have also not built up enough trust with the prospect and more than likely they do not see the real value in what you are selling. You close your eyes, pick a number out of the air and hope it is within the ballpark of what they are expecting.
Pump the breaks turbo and stop right there
If a prospect is asking about price and you know they have not fully seen nor understand the value of what you are selling, don't give it to them. At this point, it is a no-win situation for you.
If you give them a price and it is too early in the sales cycle, you lose all control and momentum of the conversation. For now on, every time you speak with them, the focus is going to be around price when it should be around the value of what your product or services bring. This is a sure fire way to find out if you are being used for column fodder.
Let’s look at two different situations that incorporate context to defuse them.
Situation #1
“Thank you for asking the question about price. Before I walk you through how we price, let me ask you a question, how much research have you done on what a typical investment is for a product such as this one?”
By asking this question, you will start to understand how much knowledge they have about what a product or service like yours cost. This will put you in the driver's seat to respond to the question without having to just pick a number out of thin air.
Notice the way you ask this question. You are basically asking, “Do you already know what something like this should cost?”
While you can come right out and ask that, you risk coming across like an a**hole. For some people that approach works; I call them charismatic sellers. Those that succeed this way are pretty rare. The odds are that is not you. Moreover, that is okay. No one likes an a**hole -- especially your customers.
Situation #2
“This is a great question Mr. Prospect and one that I get asked often; in many ways, the cost is relative. Let me ask you a question, how many time have you purchased a product or service like the one I am offering?
If they come out and say "none," this puts you in a position of power and allows you to become more of a trusted adviser since you can let them know that you have done this many of times, and can help provide them direction in purchasing a solution such as yours.
If they do have experience in purchasing, this allows you to ask a few follow up questions on what those purchases have looked like in the past. This will let you dig into the purchase process and what all that entails. Either way, you still have some control before you start throwing out numbers.
Being a sales professional is a fascinating thing. There are a million different ways to handle the price objection, and I am sure that many of you treat this in different ways. That is what makes sales such a fun thing to study and watch. You get to add your personality and style to it and see what works for you.
Questions:
Do you believe what you’re selling is worth the price?
Do you have a few go-to questions you throw back on the prospect when they ask this?
Did you do a good enough job defining your value proposition and why your solution cost what it does?
Virtual Assistant | Focused Salesperson| Warehouse & Inventory Manager | Metallurgist | Spanish speaking
6 年Any of these followup questions allows the salesperson to gather more information and better understand what the prospect wants.
Vice President of Sales
6 年To me this strikes to the heart of a bigger question. Are you talking to the right person? I teach my reps to qualify out as soon as possible. This means your current audience not the account. I've never had an executive that was trying to solve a problem walk from the right solution because of price. I believe too many salespeople are afraid to find out they have the wrong audience. If you don't have this fear you don't fear this question. I'm looking for change agents and decision makers trying to get things done. A prospect that is throwing price as an issue early probably is not that person.
Director of Channel Development @ vCom Solutions
6 年I don’t mind answering. I will say though, if you have tots cost up front, they are not always listening or have a preconceived notion. I typically answer with “it’s not going to cost anything if you don’t like what I say or if we’re not a fit” I get away with more cheese then most.
Mindbody SMB Specialist (Fitness and Wellness)
6 年The prospect has a right to ask, offer objections, and to me it is just sharing information. If you have fear around this question, you are making too big of a deal of it. If they object to the price, that's the beginning of the conversation!
B2B/B2C Sales Leader | Helping Build and Develop High-Performing Sales Organizations Driving Revenue Growth and Customer Value
6 年A straightforward question deserves a straightforward answer. From the get-go. Simply state your price. Instead of worrying about cost, focus on really understanding your prospect's business needs/goals and delivering a product/service/solution that will fulfill them. Your added value will justify your price.