I’m sure you’ve heard it—you may have even said it… “We’re not the cheapest.” This statement bothers me, both as a customer and as a business coach. In this blog post, you will learn the source of price anxiety and how to overcome price objections with your customers.
The Sales Call
If you’ve set up a sales call with a prospective customer, you want them to buy your stuff. At some point, your prospective customer says something about your price. They may say, “That’s more than I was expecting.” or “I will need to get some other bids.” or “I’ve received better prices on the internet.”
You respond with, “We’re not the cheapest.” Or “You get what you pay for.” Or “Our quality is better.”
Your prospective customer may not say anything in response. However, they’re thinking, “I can get better value elsewhere.”
What’s going on with you?
Salespeople and small business owners naturally tend to be sensitive about price. We’ve all been there.
The Salesperson
As a salesperson, you may have been hired to sell for a company. You are trained on the features, functions, and benefits of the stuff you’re selling. You’re then taught the sales process. Maybe you’re taught how to handle objections. You’re given a price sheet. Sweat starts rolling off your forehead as you wonder, “How on earth will I get a customer to pay THAT for my stuff?”
You go on a sales call. Things are going great. You’re following the sales process. Your future customer loves you. You put together a proposal, just like you were taught. You present the proposal to the customer…. Hoping they will have some lapse of judgment and sign on the dotted line. Instead, they come up with a price objection. All you can do is respond with what your sales trainer told you, “we’re not the cheapest, but we have much better service and quality than others.” Your face turns red as you see the response from your prospect.
The Small Business Owner
As a diligent small business owner, you completed a business plan. You calculated what your widgets will cost. You estimated how many widgets you plan to sell. After all the math, you arrive at the price you must charge to make a modest profit. Sweat starts rolling off your forehead as you think, “I wouldn’t pay that much!” You realize you have no choice. If you charge less, you’ll lose money.
The sales call happens, and sure enough, the customer comes up with the price objection. You’re convinced that your product is crap…. your price is too high… you must have made a math error… maybe your competition can get supplies for less. Then it happens, you say, “We’re not the cheapest.” Then you follow this admission up with platitudes like, “We are local,” “We give better service,” or “We have superior quality.”
Price Objections
Price objections are the most common objection for a prospect to avoid buying your stuff. Here are a few of the sources of price objections.
Preconceived Price
Your prospect is formulating a price in their minds before you ever visit them to prepare a cost estimate. If it’s a home project, Mr. & Mrs. Smith sit at the kitchen table and decide, “We have an extra $250 to replace our kitchen sink.” You quote them $550 to replace their sink. Their preconceived price clashes with your quote, and they react. Preconceptions come from an internet search, a low-ball bid, thin air, or any number of places.
Value Gap
All products and services have a perceived benefit in the eyes of the prospect. A business coach I know charges $60,000 for a single year of coaching. By itself, this seems outrageous when other coaches are charging $10,000 for the same thing. The one difference is that this coach guarantees his clients will achieve $20,000 monthly in revenue by the end of the first year. If you cannot equate the benefits you offer with the price you’re quoting, your prospect will naturally object to your price.
Competition
Your prospect has received a lower price for the same widget from your competition. The reaction is similar to the preconceived price. They have established a price in their mind based on your competitor’s proposal and react when you present a higher price.
Habit
Some will react with a price objection as a matter of habit. They’re convinced there is always room for negotiation and believe a price objection reaction is step one in their negotiating process.
Paranoia
There is a natural tendency for the general buying public to think they will be taken advantage of by a more knowledgeable supplier. This is especially true if you’re the only one providing a price quote for a high-priced item.
What Can You Do?
You can do many things to successfully work through price objections without sweat pouring off your forehead or turning red in the face.
It’s not Personal
When faced with a pricing objection, the first step is to know that your prospect’s reaction is NOT personal. Your prospect may show an emotion of anger, frustration, or disappointment, but this is not a personal attack… even if it manifests itself as one.
Be Prepared
Price objections are the most common objection. Instead of worrying about someone asking about price, create confidence in your price. This can be done in several ways:
- Know your competition’s price and quality
- Know that you’re getting competitive prices from your suppliers
- Understand how your price is calculated so that you know how to negotiate
This knowledge should give you confidence in your price and that you offer the best price possible.
Articulate Quality & Sell Benefits
When salespeople say, “We’re not the cheapest.”, they believe that this implies their product is of greater quality than their competition. I’ve discussed why a prospect does NOT receive this message well. Instead of saying that you’re not the cheapest, communicate why your product is superior to competing products. Avoid platitudes like, “better service”, “better quality”, “local company”, etc. The specific benefit needs to translate into significant value for your client. All companies say that they have better quality and service.
Here is a specific benefit: “Many widgets use plastic for critical components. We use stainless steel. The cost of stainless steel is triple the cost of plastic. The benefit to you is that our widget will last a lifetime, and their widget breaks within 6 months. The advantage to you is that you’re not replacing the widget every six months.”
Offer Options
Let’s face it, different customers have different means to pay; and have different quality expectations. If you only offer a superior option because you feel anything less is beneath you, you will lose customers who can’t afford your top-shelf product. Most businesses want to serve multiple clients who have different financial means.
If you offer a Bronze, Silver & Gold option, you give your prospect a choice. This choice tends to serve as an educational tool. You can describe the advantages and disadvantages of each option. This is the best way to articulate quality; and can often avoid your prospect feeling like they need to obtain competing quotes.
If you show your prospect a $500, $1,000, and $1,500 option; and a competitor only quotes a $500 option, your prospect will guess that your competition is quoting the Bronze option to try to win their business.
Planting Price Seeds
Salespeople are taught to avoid giving out a price until you make your final proposal. While this may have some merit, it often backfires. Preconception is a powerful tool as we described above. As you’re talking with a prospect at the start, throw out some numbers to prepare your prospect for your final quote. If you use this tactic, it’s wise to estimate high or use ranges. A statement like, “The type of sink you want typically runs between $300 to $700.” This will start your pricing discussion with your client early. You may either avoid doing extra work to draft a quote, or they may change their price expectation so that they aren’t shocked when the price is higher than their $250 budget. They may even be pleasantly surprised when your final quote is $550 for the sink they want.
Sell with Integrity
Whether you’re a business owner or a salesperson, NEVER sell a product or service for more than it is worth. If you’re nervous about presenting a price to a prospect, you either don’t understand the value of your product or service or are trying to cheat your prospective customer. Cheaters only prosper for short amounts of time, and they have trouble sleeping. Educate yourself on the value you offer and present your price with pride and confidence.
React with Curiosity
The most essential tool in answering any sales objection is to probe. Probing is responding with curiosity instead of judgment. As discussed above, your prospect has several reasons for objecting to your price. Here are some possible inquisitive responses:
“It seems like this was higher than you were hoping. What price did you expect?”
“Tell me more about X” where X is their price objection.
“What can I do to help you understand the value we offer?”
Any reaction should be empathy and curiosity instead of defensiveness and judgment.
If you follow some or all of these recommendations, there will be no need to say, “We’re not the cheapest.”
Jeff Schuster is the author of this post and is a business coach with Mechanics & Mindset Business Coaching. Jeff has published several more blog posts, podcasts, and videos on business mechanics, mindset, and coaching. Please set up a complimentary coaching session with Jeff if you’d like to share your business situation and gain insight into what may help you grow your business to the next level.
