Prospects have been conditioned to object to pricing. Your prospect may stall, pause, or outright complain that the price is too high.
Most salespeople respond by either justifying their pricing or reducing it.
By justifying their pricing, they are, in essence, arguing with their prospect.
By lowering their pricing, they reduce the value of their product or service.
Instead, try helping your prospect think it through.
Below are ten ways to respond to price objections:
- Acknowledge: Affirm the prospect’s position and offer an out. This might sound something like this: “I’m sorry to hear that you feel that the price is too high. Should we end the conversation here?” A common response from prospects is, “No, no, it’s fine.”
- Ask For Clarity: Request that your prospect help you understand where they’re coming from. For example: “Could you tell me more?” Or, “What makes you say that?” This shows that you’re open to listening, and it places the objection handling into the hands of the prospect. It’s their objection. Help them navigate it.
- Pause: Rather than respond immediately to a price objection, allow for a moment of quiet. Just pause. This provides time for your prospect to think through the pricing and their initial response. I once had a prospect say, “Wow, that much! Hmm…I wasn’t expecting that.” I paused, saying nothing as he mulled it over in his head. Then he stopped and said, “Well, now that I think about it, it’s actually going to save me more than it costs. Let’s do it!”
- Repeat: Repeat back what your prospect says to help them think it through. I had a prospect say, “Man, that’s way more than I expected.” Rather than the typical sales response of, “What were you expecting?,” I repeated back the last few words, saying, “It’s more than you expected…” and then I waited. His next sentence was, “But I think I can manage it.” Psychologists repeat back words to help their patients work through a problem. Do the same for your prospects.
- Reflect: Price objections from your prospect can be quite intense and emotional. They may even curse. You can reflect back with professionalism. In one instance, my prospect had a strong knee-jerk reaction, saying, “Whoa – that much! My God, really!” I reflected back with, “Whoa – that sounds like that’s a deal breaker, am I reading you right?” He immediately settled down and said, “No, not really, I guess I just didn’t know.” What’s the moral of the story? Sometimes your prospect just doesn’t know.
- Invite Input: Invite prospect’s to solve their own objection. Sometimes an invitation is all that is needed. I had a prospect tell me, “I don’t think I can get the money for this.” I said, “It sounds like we’re at an impasse, what should we do about that?” He thought about it for a few seconds and then said, “Actually, I’m good. I can draw the funds from another budget.”
- Reframe: Help your prospect focus on the gain rather than the expense – but do it without manipulation. I once heard one of my sales reps say, “Sure, I appreciate the price concern. Although, you likely spend more on pizza for your employees than you would to solve what we’ve been talking about. Is that a fair statement, or am I off base?” It was a powerful reframe. The deal closed that day. Reframes are not meant to be used in a manipulative way, but to help your prospect see clearly. Oftentimes your prospect can get so focused on an expense they forget the gain.
- Provide Perspective: Help your prospect to see the broader picture of what’s at stake. In some cases, you may need to be a little more direct in order to help your prospect. That is, you may need to provide a stark contrast. One response you can use is, “I appreciate your concern; however, based on our conversation, you’re already spending the money. In fact, if we can get you even halfway to where you need to be, you’ll be net positive. Working with us won’t cost you anything. Is that a fair or did I step out of bounds?”
- Big Picture: Help your prospect see the bigger picture. Begin with a question like, “Is cost the only factor in your purchase decision, or are there other considerations.” This helps to refocus the conversation on value to the organization. Skip Miller, author of “ProActive Selling,” notes that there are five areas that executives are concerned with: ROI, Brand, Leverage, Risk, and Time. These are all areas worth exploring to help your prospect see the bigger picture of what’s at stake.
- Collaborate: Ensure the price objection is really about price. Sometimes, prospect’s are fine with your price, they just have to find a way within their organization to make it happen. Asking, “Is it a matter of finding the money or something else?,” can open the conversation, allowing you to help your prospect think it through. There are CEO slush funds, training budgets, and other discretionary funds that can be tapped if your prospect sees you as the solution.
It can be tempting to start dropping your price at the first hint of an objection. It can also be easy to get defensive and justify your price. Resist these temptations. Instead, get clear on the objection so you can guide your prospect.
There is certainly a time and place to work out a deal. More often, though, the ten responses above go a long way to defusing price objections.
What works for you in your context?
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