How to Prevent the Price Objection (2)

My previous Blog on Objection Prevention talked about positioning: setting the landscape so your price is viewed in perspective.

Here’s a magic question to ask that complements that approach perfectly, that enables you to turn the tables on the buyer, make them feel awkward about price for once.

During the probe, look the prospect in the eyes and ask: “so….er…do you mind sharing your budget with me in round figures ?” You’ll get one of three reactions:

“Yes, it’s £x”. One in a million will be telling you the truth, the rest are lying: undercutting to give you a hard time. Whatever they say, it’s nowhere near enough. Look thoughtful, perhaps even a little shocked: “Mmmmm, that’s not really enough to really achieve what you want…” or “that’s right at the bottom end of what’s needed, you won’t get x, or y, for that amount”

“I don’t have a budget.” Yep, lying again. “OK, wouldn’t expect you have a detailed budget at this stage, but broadly speaking, what would be reasonable given the problem, and it’s likely impact on the business ?”

“I’m not telling you !” “OK, I understand, but I don’t want to waste either of our time….so broadly speaking, what would be a reasonable amount to consider, given the problem, and it’s real impact on the business ?”

You need to be careful not to be too confrontational with this one, keep the tone of voice gentle, but when it works it raises the discussion onto business levels, and away from your price in isolation.

How to Prevent the Price Objection

All buyers do it. In front of the mirror every morning, they practice saying “So….how much ?” and then knotting their brows, saying “How much ?!!!”. And you know when that happens to you, it’s all about price from then on, whatever you’re selling, they’ve got you on the run.

There are hundreds of sales techniques for handling objections, but they all make you sound evasive when it comes to price. It’s far better to prevent the price Objection, and drop in one or both of my all-purpose Price Objection Preventers. Let’s say you’re selling IT Consulting or Support…...

Preventer #1: Set the bar really high

In the middle of describing what your company does, and what the benefits are, just drop in the phrase “…..now to achieve that, you might well have to pay two grand a day with IBM or Accenture….” and don’t stop, just carry on with the benefits. They’ll invariably say “….so what do you charge then ?” and you can honestly say, “….ooooh, a lot less than that, and the benefits are proven in organisations just like yours. Let me give you an example….”

Preventer #2: Ensure they’re comparing your cost with the real cost of doing it themselves.

Again, while you’re describing what you do and the benefits, just drop in “…..now to achieve that using just your people alone would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds…” and carry on fast with the benefits of you doing it. Yes, they’ll break in with “no it won’t my people are free, they’re already employed….” and then you can have an intelligent discussion about the real costs (and the opportunity costs) of them doing it themselves.

Both these preventers show you’re not afraid to talk money….but they give you the chance to talk about it in the way you want to, comparing it with other approaches to the problem, not just an absolute amount.