Meet those pricing objections head-on and curb a
customer’s urge to roam.
Coming from a background in
sales, where I knew that my pricing on service work and install were going to
be anywhere from 33-50 percent higher than most of my competition, I learned a
key sales technique.
It’s
called “Raising the Objection”.
Most contractors are in the
habit of “Quote and Hope”. That means you let either your techs or your sales people
quote a price for work and
hope the customer brings up their
price objection. However, they might never do that and may just select someone
else. I know because they used to do that to me.
Don’t be
fooled by their smiles and head nodding as you make your presentation thinking
they’re buying. They’re usually just being polite.
Since I
got a lot of no-sales way back when, I learned how to improve my sales technique
and I spent more than 20 years teaching my own techs and sales people - and now
to clients all around the country - on how to sell better.
In a
solid sales system, you need to have a correct set of steps that allow you to
raise the objection at the right time before they do, because then you can
control it and turn it into a competitive advantage.
The way
I did it was to wait until I presented what I felt was the very best solution
based on their answers to my questions and my thorough preparation with the
features, advantages and benefits for all of my recommendations. Then, I’d take
a deep breath and say, “If I were you, I would consider getting some other
price quotes. But before you do, here’s something you should consider so you’re
comparing apples to apples.”
Sometimes I might even say,
“You know I might be slightly higher than the other prices you’re getting. So,
may I show you why that might be?” And then I’d continue on with a scripted and
visual presentation that backed up why my company and I were worth the money.
This one
technique improved my own closing ratio (sales calls I went on to sales calls I
closed) by more than 25 percent. Know why? Because it was the last thing they
were expecting me to say! They were surprised, to say the least, and open to me
bringing up what they were already thinking about doing.
What
it did allow me to do was bring up good reasons why my company was the best
choice and what pitfalls to be aware of when they were out comparing. I truly
believe that my closing rate went up because they could see I wasn’t fearful of
them getting other bids. Frankly, I doubt a lot of them ever did once I helped
them put all the cards on the table.
Practice
it and then take it into the field and watch your sales closing rate climb.
Give Me 60 Minutes And I'll Show You The Secrets To Running
A Profitable Service Business ... Even During A Recession!
Al Levi is a consultant and a contributing editor to
PM
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