Have you ever been in a sales situation where someone was trying to beat you up over price? There’s a technique you can use that, in my experience, is the absolute best thing you can do. You’ve got to be ready to walk away from the sale, but it’s a phenomenal tool to use in situations like that.
Before you even run into the situation, you’ve got to pay attention to who you’re dealing with. You’ve got to make sure you have some bonding and rapport, and know a little about their world, both personal and professional.
Then, if they start to negotiate, or start to go back and forth, you can pull out this tool.
They will say something like, “Hey, such and such company is only going to charge me whatever price.”
That’s when you use this response. And it may be way outside your comfort zone. It’s definitely a big guts thing.
You respond, “I appreciate you sharing that. I’m curious, can you think of any reasons why we might be more?”
Whatever they answer first is right!
Obviously, you’ll want to modify the phrasing to fit you. And while the words are important, your body language and tonality when you ask it are even more important.
That sounds pretty straight forward. But you’ve got to be prepared. Because if they’re trying to beat you up on the price, they may not want the better deal.
The key is, they’ll usually have a reason in mind. And you want to know what that is, so you can make sure you’re a good fit for that reason!
Of course, they may respond, “I can’t think of anything.” In that case, there’s a couple different ways you can go.
First, you can respond with something along these lines. “We don’t want to be the low price leader, and there are lots of reasons we might be more than somebody else. If none of them come to your mind, then we’re probably not a good fit for you.”
And then be ready to walk away from the sale!
Second, you could nurture them a bit instead. If you know something about their world, this becomes easier for you to do. For example, if you know they’re driving a Mercedes instead of a Ford, you can ask something like, “I’m curious, why did you buy a Mercedes instead of a Ford?”
Then listen to their response and relate your situation back to that.
Remember, they either have a reason in mind, or they just want you to go cheaper. Either way, you want to draw that out. It takes guts, and it takes preparation, but it’s a phenomenal tool.
