SellingBrew

Insights & Tips

Already a subscriber? Login

Become a subscriber and unlock an information arsenal focused on making your sales operation more effective.

Go Ahead…Give Them a Lower Price

In a guide published in the SellingBrew Playbook — Three Types of Buyers That Don’t Buy On Price — Nelson Hyde offers subscribers some fantastic advice about how to recognize and deal with different types of buyers. In the guide, he even provides a chart outlining the different buyer types and their typical characteristics—a very handy training aid and deal-support tool.

But in response to a question in the guide, Nelson offers a piece of advice that I know I will never forget. The question was this:

“What can I do if I can’t really tell whether the customer is serious about needing the absolute lowest price?”

Nelson’s advice? Give it to them.

That’s right—if the customer claims they need the lowest price, take them at their word and give them the lowest price you can muster. Now, this lowest price won’t be for the full-featured offering with all of the value-adds—of course, you’ll strip all of that away in order to reach the lowest price.

From here, Nelson says one of two things will happen:

  1. The customer will be grateful that you were able to quote a price that was low enough to meet their budget, or
  2. They will yell and scream about all of the value that was stripped-out in order to reach that low price-point.

In other words, by taking them at their word and delivering against their stated objectives, you force the customer to reveal themselves. If they really are a price buyer, they’ll be happy with the low-price/low-value offering you’ve put together for them. But if they are really a relationship or value buyer just pretending to be a price buyer, you’ll find yourself in a much better position to actually get paid for the value you provide.

I love this strategy because it takes all of the games and guesswork out of the equation. You can simply give the customer what they ask for and then let them tell you what they really wanted all along.

Some would say that’s calling their bluff. I prefer to think of it as just providing great “customer service”.

Get Immediate Access To Everything In The SellingBrew Playbook

Related Resources

  • How to Improve Your Sales Pipeline Analysis

    Pipeline analytics is great for reporting on current performance, but it can do so much more. This guide outlines 12 strategies for improving deal probability, velocity and value across every salesperson in your sales operation.

    View This Guide
  • Avoiding the Top 7 Sales Ops Mistakes

    If you can avoid the biggest mistakes that others have already made, you're definitely rigging the game in your favor. Learn about the Sales Ops mistakes that have set other groups back years and even damaged careers.

    View This Webinar
  • From Tactical to Strategic Sales Ops

    Some teams are so mired in tactical grunt work and daily firefights that they never make progress on strategic pursuits. How have other Sales Ops teams transitioned into more strategic functions? What steps did they take?

    View This Webinar
  • Creating More Powerful Sales Proposals

    Delivering a proposal is often the final "yes/no" step that every other sales and marketing activity is leading up to. We spoke with Reuben Swartz about how to create sales proposals that win more business at higher margins.

    View This Interview