Successful Selling Tips for Professionals No.2: Price Objections – What they really mean

Successful Selling Tips for Professionals No.2: Price Objections – What they really mean

We are all very conscious of the price we charge in the market. We want to charge the right amount for our service, and a premium if we can for the value inherent in that service, but we don’t want to price ourselves out of the market either.

For most of us the words “you’re too expensive” are one of the things we least want to hear from a potential client. It can spell the end of negotiations and for many less experienced sales people it in fact says “no thank you”.

But does an objection based on price always actually mean that?

For more experienced sales people, a price objection is not the end. They will have a strategy in mind to addressing the objection, looking beyond the words for the meaning behind it.

Reasons for a price objection

In my experience, there are 4 main reasons why a prospective client will raise a pricing objective:

1. They don’t see the value in your offering/proposition,
2. it could be a signal that they want to negotiate,
3. it could be that price isn’t the issue but there is a wholly different concern about your proposal, or
4. they simply can’t afford you.

Once you are able to identify the true reason for the objection, you are in a position to address it.

Could it be that you have missed the chance to do business with a client by misreading their objections?

Next time you hear the words “you’re too expensive”, stop and look to the client’s true meaning. This is an opportunity in disguise. Ask clarifying questions, listen patiently and carefully to what they have to say. And then, make the deal happen.

Contact me

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch. You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com, use the contact page on my website www.jamesnathan.com or call me on 07736 831151. Follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathanxp, connect to me on LinkedIn, or follow me on Facebook.

I look forward to being in touch.

PS – An fun anecdote from my past: When asked our costs by a client a former boss of mine got the response “you are very expensive” to which he replied “thank you”.

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Successful Selling Tips for Professionals No.1: Sell First – negotiate later

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