Have you ever stepped your way through the sales process only to be disappointed by your prospect's objection to your price? This situation unfolds all too regularly for many small business owners. The other day I was talking to Joan who was lamenting how shed spent a ton of time developing a relationship with a new prospect, but in the end wasnt able to make the sale. Over the course of six sales meetings her prospect seemed like a slam dunk. He was very enthusiastic about her product (inventory control software for the food service industry), he hadnt seen a similar product on the market (Joans software has a unique and easy to use interface) and he and Joan seemed to have a great rapport (they both are avid snow boarders and each loves jazz) . But when it came time for Joan to ask for the business the answer was no. Her hot prospect was cool on her price. Where did Joan go wrong? She was quite befuddled with her collapsed deal and wanted to know what she could do to prevent such future failings. Not only did she not get the business, she ended up wasting her valuable time which could have been better spent developing a lead that turned into a sale. Does this sound familiar? Have you ever spent time developing a great lead only to have the deal fall apart because your prospect objects to your price? If so, you may have made the same common sales mistake Joan made: she tried to make the sale without having enough information to make her prospect the right offer, despite her six positive sales meetings. What Joan neglected to do was to ask her prospect about his accounting needs with respect to inventory control. Unfortunately for Joan, she learned this important fact only after our conversation when she called her prospect back to find out where she went wrong. Her prospect had already decided to use the software of one of her competitors. Even though Joans software features a nice accounting package, her offer included nothing with respect to accounting. Her prospect assumed that her software didnt feature the accounting functionality he required because Joan didnt mention it. She talked a lot about the softwares innovative, easy to use interface and its great database functionality but she never mentioned the accounting features because her prospect didnt ask. Her price would have been fine if her prospect had known about the accounting capability of her software! During your sales process be sure to ask all the questions you need answered to understand your prospects needs. You can then use the information youve acquired to shape your pitch around exactly what is going to solve your prospects problems. Before you tell your prospect your price make sure the time is right by asking questions like: Does this sound helpful? Is there anything I havent mentioned that would be helpful? What do you like best about our competitions product or service? By obtaining answers to these questions you will be able to gauge whether or not you have enough information to make an offer that your prospect would be ill-advised to decline. If you dont have enough information go back for more; schedule another meeting and then go through another probing round of questions. If you do have enough information, make your prospect the best offer theyve ever heard. If youve done enough homework youll make the sale. |
