How much is it? Don’t be fooled!
Peter C. Ekstrom
Entrepreneur-8 Exits ?? Linguist ?? Wordsmith ?? TheGoldCall.com??
Ever have a sales prospect that asks you how much your product costs seconds after you shake their hand or say “hello”? “If you have to ask how much, you can’t afford it”.
Prospects that ask, “How much”? are asking you for good reason - either they have no money, they don’t want to spend any money, or the company they work for doesn’t allow them to spend money. And prospects don’t want you to know the reason - so you have to uncover it.
Think about it… You walk into a clothing store, find a clerk and ask, “How much are your suits or gowns”? - and you ask this question before even bothering to look around and find something you like and try it on. The clerk at first is at a loss for an answer, then proceeds to ask, what size? what style? what color? Why aren't you responding in a similar way on your sales calls?
Prospects like to ask how much because they like to see you squirm, or hear you stammer on the phone while you clamor for an answer. Prospects like the feeling of empowerment when they ask you, “How much”?
The “How much” question puts you on the defensive to come up with an answer that you think your prospect will like. You'll come up with answers like: “We’re 25% cheaper” or “Less than you might think” or “We’re a bit more expensive, but higher quality and let me tell you why”. Once you fall into this ’trap’ that prospects have set for you (asking what it costs), and you start defending cost and explaining features & benefits - it's unlikely you'll ever close the sale. Why? Because the problem you solve and the importance of solving the problem was never discussed. You didn't ask what size, what style, what color and why now?...
Time to call the 'game'... Your best move whenever you’re asked “How much”? is to answer the question with a question and ask your prospect why knowing the cost right away is important to them.
Example Prospect: “How much is it”? Salesperson: “Interesting question… You must have a good reason for asking me “how much” right away - May I ask why”?
This dialogue exchange opens the door to a more productive sales call because you’re asking for information - the real reason behind why your prospect asked you “how much” in the first place. If getting the truth from your prospects doesn’t hurt you, you’ll find that answering your prospects question with a question about the reasons why will serve you well. Asking why will turn the tables in your favor by getting you the valuable information you need to move your sales call in the right direction, and do so without squirming.
About Peter C. Ekstrom - Peter is the president & CEO of Dealbuilders, a full-service digital sales & marketing consultancy that helps entrepreneurs and companies connect & communicate with their buying market so they can close more sales. www.Dealbuilders.com
Peter is also a part-time professor teaching linguistics and verbal communications skills to undergraduate students attending The Lubin School of Business - Pace University, NYC. Peter's Gold Call Curriculum helps students acquire the speech communications skills they need to succeed in their business careers following graduation.
Peter is the author of The Gold Call Script-Builder Kit an on-line self study course that helps salespeople acquire the verbal communication skills they need to master conversations with sales prospects over the telephone. The Gold Call Script is an unique dialogue scripting tool that uses 'phonics' to teach salespeople how to speak with confidence and successfully negotiate for the undivided attention of the people they want to do business with. www.TheGoldCallScript.com
SVP Sales - GTM Revenue Leader - SVP of SaaS Sales - Executive Software Sales Leader
6 年Solid post, Peter! I think this issue also has a timing element to it. For example, on an initial call (the scenario you described in your blog post) if the customer starts asking about price it's probably because your conversation up until that point is not rooted in value. They're looking to make you squirm, absolutely, and they're also looking for a way out of the call because their time is being wasted. In this scenario - them asking about price is BAD. But, the prospect asking for a price isn't always bad. At the end of a value based conversation where the rep uncovers needs and goals, demonstrates how their solution can help, and why they can do it better than anyone else, if the prospect asks about price at that moment that could signal a desire to move forward (i.e. - "OK, I get it - what would it take to make this real?"). To your point, no matter where the question comes out, we should never be defending or justifying the price. That's always a bad thing.