Saturday, May 17, 2008

Are you firm about your price?




Many sales people don’t like to talk about price – they skirt around it, write it down and point to it, but don’t answer the question directly.

The same way sellers do trial closes, the buyer tests the price proposal by staking out the price early on. They get a ‘reading’ of how comfortable you are about price, and how negotiable.

If you look like you lack confidence in your price your customer may doubt the value of what you have to offer. Confidence sells!

Here are some telltale signs that indicate you feel awkward about talking about price:






  • You precede your answer with: Are you sitting down? Or: Are you ready for this? How do you feel about $100? What do you think about that?



  • Or worse still you ask: What do we need to do to get your business?



  • You avoid answering the question.



  • You change the subject.



  • You don’t answer the question with words, you point to a number.



  • You direct their attention to another product.



  • You mention price too late – the customer has already starting showing doubt about something else you mentioned; she is on the way out the door.



  • You tell the customer your price is today’s price … or the normal price is … or the list price is …



  • You avoid eye contact; rub your neck, nose, ear; jiggle your pen; rush to answer the phone – do anything other than give your customer your full attention!


Think about your own mannerisms: How do you betray your confidence in yourself when it comes to discussing price?



©2008 Jane Francis is the author of Price Yourself Right: A guide to charging what you are worth (ISBN: 0-595-38601-6) available at Barnes and Noble (USA), WH Smith (UK) or online at amazon.com or at amazon.co.uk