Never reveal the price until you've built up the value

By Sean McPheat

The old golden rule in professional selling was to never reveal price until the end of your presentation.  However, unlike the buyer of years ago, today’s modern and educated buyer is sales savvy, competitively aware and well informed. Should you still hold out on revealing the price until late in the sales interaction?

In a word—absolutely!

While there are some products and services in where price is common knowledge, in most cases you should still hold out on discussing pricing until after you have completed your sales presentation.  You must first firmly establish the value before you reveal the price. Here are a couple of reasons why you should never reveal the price until after you have significantly built up the value.

Price is irrelevant until you have established value

First, understand that pricing has no validity until you have built the value. If I came to you and said I have a house for sale, and told you the price was only $1,000, would you buy it? You would have to have more information about the house even at such a low price: Where is the house located?  How many rooms?  How old is it? Do you even need a new house? 

You might say that for a certain price, those things don’t matter.  Yet, what if the house was located in the middle of an active war-torn country 8,000 miles away and was essentially an old fashioned out-house?  Is it still worth $1,000? 

Better yet, let’s assume I came to you to sell a gigantic, pink inflatable chair.  It glows in the dark and floats. Would you buy it for $1,000?  How about $500? However, assume I also informed you that the local damn has just collapsed and within a few minutes, the entire area is going to be 50 feet under water. Would you pay $1,000 for the inflatable chair now?

Price is meaningless until you can build up the value. You cannot build up the value until you demonstrate the need.  You cannot demonstrate the need until you expose and define the problem. 

It is a disservice to the buyer

When you reveal the price too soon, you actually perform a disservice to the prospective buyer.  By giving the buyer the pricing before you have offered all of the necessary information he or she needs to make an educated decision; you have damaged the buyer. 

When you reveal the price, it forces the prospect to begin to make a buying decision, if only mentally.  The prospect begins to formulate their reasoning and logic before they have the ingredients to do so, and the prospect forms a mental disposition on the purchase. Consequently, what you say and do after you reveal the price, falls on death ears and a preconceived thought process.     

When you get that buyer who insists on knowing the price before you have had a chance to build up the value, understand that it is in their best interest that you wait.  Revealing the price too soon, is tantamount to malpractice. 

Sean McPheat is the founder and Managing Director of MTD Sales Training.

Sean has been featured on the BBC, ITV, CNN International, scores of radio stations and has been in over 250 different media publications. Sean is the pioneer of social selling and social prospecting within the UK, and his groundbreaking book “eselling® – How To Use The Internet For Prospecting, Personal Branding, Networking And For Engaging The C-Suite Decision Maker” became an instant #1 Amazon bestseller.  Follow Sean Online

* Image attribution: Free Digital Photos.net

Tips for new sales people

Several techniques can be used to improve acclimation into a new sales job. Even though not all sales positions are the same, there are some largely universal sales tips and techniques that can assist many new sales positions. Below are a few tips that can develop your sales and marketing skill by helping make the most of your sales efforts.

• Learn about potential clients

Clients are number one in sales because the success of your job is heavily dependent on if they buy or not. Think of your clients first, your product or service second and your company and self third. This prioritizes your sales efforts in a way that can bring results and leverage to your bottom line objectives.

• Communicate effectively

Communication is a huge part of sales because what you say and how you conduct any sales effort determines how well your message is delivered apart from pre-designed sales information and scripts. Effective communication addresses a contact's emotions, schedule, needs, finances, interests and personality all at the same time.

• Employ sales tools

Sales literature and tools are supplements to your sales presentations, but not crutches for a lack of sales delivery expertise. Start thinking of your printed information as a tool to highlight key learning moments and points in a sales script or presentation. This will help develop and deliver a stronger product or service.

• Know your product

There's little point trying to sell something you know nothing about unless you're incredibly good at talking and connecting with people on an emotional level. Knowing your product is helpful no matter how well you communicate and helps you answer questions well demonstrating both professionalism and expertise.

• Distinguish leads quickly

Time really is money in addition to effort. By being able to identify hot and cold leads quickly will save you wasted effort and put you in control of the situation. For example, an opening question such as "Do you know how your car can make you money?" both introduces a need for more money, and identifies the willingness or interest of a lead to both answer your question and communicate.

• Follow up with leads

Potential buyers may be interested in a product or service but not so interested to follow up themselves. They may also be too busy or forget to follow up on what you have presented to them. Some leads may be entertained by your efforts and have no intention to buy so be precise and quick with your follow ups. Those that don't schedule a meeting by the second or third follow up go from warm to less warm.

• Utilize company resources

Keep in mind sales encompasses a vast amount of product and services, so each new sales job is likely to have differences related to product or service offered, lead generation procedures, sales support, payment structure and so on. Your manager and company may already have a strong sales program in place, this can be to your advantage if you are able to merge you pre-existing sales techniques into their sales program. You can also improve your sales methods by learning from more experienced sales people at your company, and by consulting additional resources such as the following.

Sources:

1. http://bit.ly/auqriV    (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
2. http://bit.ly/acWGcb (Sales Tips and Techniques)
3. http://bit.ly/9wUTLk (Entrapreneur.com)

Improve Sales Prospects By Avoiding These Sales Errors

If you want to close a sale your chances increase by avoiding common sales errors. Even if you have the best product and service around, and the best sales presentation to go along with it, sales errors can bust a sale before you realize what happened. Although some sales errors are more typical to sales neophytes than seasoned veterans, all sales people can learn new methods and improve their game.

Selling is an art and a process as well as the product or service being promoted. In order to equip yourself with the right sales tools for the job, setting aside the erroneous sales tools and techniques that don't get the job done can help improve your game and allow your inner sales person shine through. 7 of these sales errors are listed and illustrated below:

1. Picking the wrong product

There are plenty of products and services to sell and picking the wrong one can mean failure for a sales operation. A good product or service will 1. be in demand, 2. appeal to the people your promotion is aimed at, and 3. have a good record of making sales when the right sales methodology is used. Selling the right product is the first step to making decent sales.

2. Lack of knowledge

Not knowing about what your selling can really botch up a sale if your interested buyers rely on information to make their decisions. Not all products and services require the same amount of knowledge, but knowing about what you're selling is necessary to accurately and effectively portraying and presenting what you're selling as worthwhile.

3. Inhibited sales technique

Inhibition and self-doubt are terrible traits to have in sales. Customers and potential customers will see you as a reflection of your product which means being inhibited and doubtful can make them wonder 1) if the product or service is any good and 2) why you're not confident in the product or service. Believing in what you're selling is paramount to inspiring belief in others. The more of your own product you own, and the more people you know who also own the product or have used the service and are happy with it, the more likely those who haven't will be interested.

4. Being too slow

Giving a lead too much time to think can be a bad thing, rushing them isn't always good either. Knowing how much pressure to apply during a sale is vital to getting the sale completed and moving on to a new lead. This involves being able to 'read' your lead or apply a sales method that is productive and well liked by leads. Additionally, initiating contact and creating a pleasant sales atmosphere in which the client or potential client can feel comfortable learning about a product, is useful in allowing them to become interested.

5. Not knowing your lead

Your lead is your client regardless of if they buy or not; not knowing them is like selling oranges to an apple tree. Take the time to get to know your lead and understand exactly what you're looking for so you can save yourself and the lead time. Knowing about who you're selling to can also help you understand what sales techniques they're more likely to respond to. Some prefer emotional sales, whereas others prefer factual. Still more might expect you to meet certain levels of performance or a combination of all three.

6. Over selling

Over selling is a turn off, its easy to be enthusiastic and vigilant at presenting something, but over selling can come across as desperate, insensitive and aggressive. Even passive leads can recognize over selling when they see it. You want your lead to be interested in the product and not distracted by your personality. A friendly, honest, helpful and informative character can help build brand for your company and is often appreciated by leads and customers alike.

7. Poor negotiation and/or sales technique

Negotiating is a very important skill in some sales. Products or services that have negotiable prices and competitors require strong negotiation skills and innovative techniques. To put your product ahead of another involves helping your customer realize they need what they're buying, and why it is a good deal and beneficial to them. An array of information, technique, experience and know how is helpful in implementing and matching the right negotiation and technique with the right client.