Your Price Is Right - Sell It!

[Music] thank you you've heard it said I guess that the hardest person to sell the most difficult customer of all is a tough-minded professional salesman I don't know that that's true but for the next few minutes I want to test that theory now you're a professional salesman and I'm going to try to sell you something I'm going to try to get you to buy what's in this box I don't expect this to be an easy sale for one thing I'm not going to tell you what it is that's in here but I will tell you that the price is pretty high one hundred dollars to be excited all right here's my closing question will you buy it well suppose we cut the price in half fifty dollars now is it a deal all right you've turned me down why well obviously because you've decided the price is too high Common Sense tells you that a hundred dollars or for that matter any price is too much to pay for something you don't know anything about but on the other hand how does that price look when I show you what's in here [Applause] a diamond ring valued at nine thousand dollars buy this four hundred dollars and you've got a bargain the point is a price all by itself means absolutely nothing it's only when you know what you get for that prize that you can decide if it's high or low right or wrong and if that fact strikes you as being childishly simple then why does so many salesmen give up when they run into this your price is too high but it cost too much I can get it for Less the price is too high well I don't know whether I want to go that high it's really more than we figured on paying objection to the price it is without a doubt the most frequently heard objection in the whole field of selling it's the objection that stops more salesmen and more sales than any other the reason it stops them is that the more they hear it the more they accept the price objection as valid so in time they begin agreeing when a prospect says your price is too high oh yeah it is pretty high but I guess everything's going up these days once he starts accepting price objections then the salesman himself begins believing them and passing them on to other salesmen just let us make a deal instead of sticking to this blasted schedule everybody says our prices are too high and say that again and from there right on up to management Cliff we've got to do something about our prices if it means cutting some Corners in production then let's do it you mean shave the quality no I mean get competitive what people buy on today is price that's all they care about is price and they're telling us our prices are too high now hold it let's stop that price objection myth right there the fact is nobody buys on price alone if you doubt that just think back to that box with a hundred dollar price tag that was too high until you knew what was inside nobody can possibly decide whether a price is high or low until he knows what debt price represents all the factors and values that go into it so any salesman who'd let a customer get away with telling him your price is too high would actually be admitting an outsider knows more about his product and he does and that's nonsense no successful salesman would ever admit that what he and you must always keep in mind is when it comes to the price of your product or your service you're the expert not your customer you have all the advantage over him because you have the facts you know how and why your price was established and what it means he doesn't you know everything that Christ represents he doesn't and so you're in command you know your price is right and no matter what he says he can't know unless and until you prove it to him now obviously you must believe your price is right before you can convince your customer if you're tough-minded enough to remember this then you can see price objections for what they really are not obstacles but opportunities you can stop fighting price objections and start using them as potent practical selling tools but this does take tough-mindedness and this remember is the combination of dedication discipline and determination that goes into a totally professional approach to selling to see how these three d's of tough-mindedness apply in the problem of price we need to analyze price objections as such we need to understand the real meanings behind the different variations of your price is too high when a customer says that he may be saying to himself I don't understand why the price is so high but then maybe there's something I don't know about it in other words he's not ready to judge the price yet he's simply asking for more information or in another case a prospect who says well I I don't know whether I want to go that high may actually be telling you I want it I'll buy it if he can give me a little more reason for going that high if that's what's in his mind you're practically Home Free or take this objection it's really more than we figured on paying that could be translated to mean it's really better than we figured on buying if that's what she's actually thinking again you may be on the way to a sale as we'll see later the point you need to look for the underlying meaning a so-called price objection like this frequent one that sounds good but it costs too much more often than not that actually means I'm afraid the price is too high notice there's a big difference between what he said it costs too much and what he meant the price is too high that's worth following up later too now the important point in all those cases is this in not one did the price objection represent an actual turndown on the contrary every objection could have been taken as an invitation to move ahead to a sale simply by answering that objection you could have proved proved price was right and to make a sale the two things you have to prove are that your product is right and your price is also right it's as simple as that so strange as it may seem to some newcomers to selling the tough-minded professional salesman doesn't fair price objections he welcomes them he doesn't treat a price objection like this the price is too high well I was afraid you were going to say that maybe we can get that price down for you now what if we left off the automatic feed control no I want that feature um well what if we go to a smaller basic machine no well I uh I guess I'll have to get back with my balls uh maybe he can do something on the price is that all right with you I mean uh you know maybe he can do something and uh tough-minded salesman does not back away from a price objection he talks about his price easily confidently he never apologizes for his price instead he uses the price objection to close a sale the price is way out of line well that's a relief no why I mean we're agreed then that this is what you really want right now wait a minute so the only thing stopping you is the price that's what I say the price is so if I can show you how much more you'll get and actual money's worth for the difference between this that you want and something cheaper will you give me an order well but well yeah but great look here and he's in the home stretch all right so I've said price objections can be turned into highly effective sales tools now I want to show you specifically how you go about that in a tough-minded professional way you do it mathematically by the old classic process of adding subtracting multiplying and dividing these are the mathematics you use in proving your price to the customer addition add up all the benefits he gets from your product the actual tangible values subtract those benefits that he cannot get in a cheaper competitive product multiply by all the intangibles of quality and satisfaction that your price includes and divide your prize into small units of longer lifetime costs you can use any or all of these processes depending on the situation in proving that your price is right now let's go back and apply them to those four price objections we just considered number one came from this customer the machine is all set up and we can take all the time we need I think you're going to like this how much is it well you get right to the point all right and before we discuss price let me show you some of this know how much okay Mr Dean the price of this system is thirty three hundred dollars your price is too high remember we said that could be translated I don't understand why the price is so high but then maybe there's something I don't know about it so the process of mathematics begins yes sir that does seem like a lot of money let me show you why the price is not high but actually very low in terms of all you get for that money from my survey we determined that a visual audit feature was needed is that right foreign course you need the printing table with the check endorsement feature is that correct we also agreed that you wanted the void control and the one item even change right so here's the process of addition to prove his price is not high but right he's adding up all the features the plus values the benefits of the product all the things representing actual money's worth that that price includes and that's how change computation would benefit your particular business do you agree but to sum it up the basic machine plus these features nothing on the market will touch it for the price um so you're still not going to tell me it's high are you it uh Hey low it's just about right isn't it suppose we wrap it up right now may I set up a demonstration to bring this in and show your key if that sale isn't closed it won't be because the customer thinks the price is unreasonable he may not want to pay it but he won't claim it's out of line all right let's hear another price objection from a different customer with a different meaning it's all right isn't it I know you'll be just as pleased with this boat as your friend Jim Chandler is with his yeah but uh I don't think I want to go that high now we said before but he may actually be telling the salesman is I want it I'll buy it if you can give me a little more reason for going that high but suppose the salesman here has no more benefits to add to his list of pluses he's already made in that case he might do a little subtraction it's up to you of course but look at it this way suppose you go for that I'm for sure but that's because of what you don't get remember it doesn't have the extra space forward or the self-draining deck simple arithmetic he's subtracting the benefits the lower price competitive vote doesn't offer on the other boat you just don't get the ride that's built into this boat have you ever had a ride this stable before well no not like this then too this is a hand laid Hall you can't get that with a cheaper boat so you save a few dollars but you lose all those features take those away and you really haven't got the boat you want isn't that about the size of it oh and uh one other thing I don't think you'd get with the other boat but it doesn't fit will you sign the order if I get you on the DOT that's how to use subtraction to sell your price by taking away those features space drainage stability construction he proved the price was right so much for that price objection then there was the third variation we heard on the theme of high price the customer who finally said I don't think so it's really more than we figured on pain and we said before that's another way of saying it's really better than we figured on buying if that's what she really means then what seemed to be a price objection really isn't that at all so watch how this is handled just how much this extra expenditure would buy for you we really hadn't given it much thought well believe me I don't want to sell you more than you need or want assuming she has given her sales story she's now going to use multiplication she multiplies the intangibles of what she's selling intangible such as reputation when you buy the best you get that extra investment back many times over in a lot of important ways the reliability that we've built our reputation on our company has been selling Quality Carpets for many years and that reputation multiplied by the intangible of knowledge your knowledge of your product but this is less expensive for a very important reason just feel the difference between these two carpets the features of this carpet are on the back but the real story of quality is inside where you can't see it I'd like to tell you a few things about how carpets are made multiply by the intangible of confidence which you create Integrity that you demonstrate in all good conscience I couldn't tell you this carpet although it's a popular brand I know you wouldn't be happy with it with your active family of three teenage Sons you need something with much more durability the intangibles are multiplied to create peace of mind it's impossible to put a price tag on all this but I promise you it's worth many times the difference between what you'd pay for this and what you'd spend for the second or third or fourth best wouldn't you agree yes I would we'll take it so that's multiplying by the intangibles of quality to prove the Price Is Right she reassured the customer created confidence in her product and in herself convinced them she was looking after their best interests all right then we saw the fourth objection on the grounds of price he was this man we can have this machine to you by Thursday is it a deal well it sounds good but it cost too much now there's a good chance that what he said is not what he means and it's up to the salesman to find out or you think the front well which what do you mean which it costs too much the price is too high oh there's a big difference Mr Collins between cost and price is what you pay just to get this lift truck cost is what you pay to put it to work over its whole lifetime price is just a part of cost well if you want to get technical well it's important here let me show you our price is about five to ten percent above our next competitor for all the reasons that have told you about heavy duty chassis axle serviceability operator safety and comfort for all those reasons by paying the higher price you're actually buying yourself lower cost he's already added up the benefits Now's the Time to use division by paying that higher price you get at least twice the length of service with about half of the maintenance requirement now divide our price over those extra years of trouble-free service and you'll find that this truck actually costs you much less per year over its lifetime than anything else on the market no matter how cheap those other prices may look to begin with you want to put that in writing it is in writing uh there these are actual operating costs for owners of this machine no resale values too hey I know this guy you mind if I checked with him I hope you do there's nothing like a satisfied owner or customer to prove your Price is Right divide it into units of Lifetime cost convince him that initial price is only part of his real cost and at a higher initial price leads to lower total cost never let your customer confuse price and cost all right then what this all proves to sell your prize and subtract multiply or divide remember you may use one or more of these techniques to overcome the so-called price objection so called because frequently the customer knows what he's getting but he tries to test the salesman get him to lower his price in spite of the facts with safety locks on all doors I estimate the entire cost of the security system at a little over twenty eight hundred dollars it's a good investment sure just one thing though I can get it for Less to a tough-minded Salesman what that really means is maybe I can scare him into cutting his prize but being tough-minded he doesn't scare no sir I don't believe you can get this for Less oh come on I mean it that price is firm company policy and for a very simple reason listen if we cut that price we'd have to cut the standards material and workmanship we just won't do that well what I mean is I can get just about thankful but you can not the same thing not by a long shot sure you can buy something that looks kind of like this for 5 00 500 and you know what you wouldn't get for that 500 here it comes subtraction the minus factors of buying cheaper you wouldn't get armored wiring okay okay I'm just showing you for that 500 you say you'd save you wouldn't get this system foreign [Music] for all the headaches you'll get along with that 500 savings you can't blame it again so by the mathematics of selling you can apply the information you have about your product or your service where it does the most good you can mathematically convert price objections into sales simply by proving your price is right but let's be practical some objections on the grounds of price can never be overcome sometimes when a customer says I can't afford it well naturally that's for you to decide but as you said it's exactly what you'd like to have now you agreed it's worth the price and then some and the extra yes I don't need it or I'd like to have it and there's no argument about the price it's just that I can't afford it what you mean is you what I mean is I haven't got the money and no amount of mathematics can get you over that price obstacle but the fact remains more often than most salesmen think price objections can lead directly to the closing of sales they represent not obstructions but opportunities the successful tough-minded salesman recognized is he's dedicated to the conviction that his product is right and his price is right he disciplines himself to get the facts all the facts he needs to back up that conviction and he's forever determined to deliver those facts to his customers price objections the tough-minded salesman accepts them as invitations to prove his price is right and set up sales he adds up the benefits but in all honesty when you consider the advantages all the extra value and performance features you've seen put them all together and they add up to a lot of money's worth at this price he subtracts all the value not available at a lower price reliability Performance Real value than you could possibly say is it worth it to take away from yourself your customers everything that represents your company for the sake of a smaller price tag he multiplies the intangibles of quality and satisfaction but I don't have to tell you that you can't get anything for nothing you have to pay the quality well I know that's an overworked word and everybody uses it but you know how much it means and something like this just as well as I do real quality doesn't come cheap but when you invest in it to get the very best it's your Assurance of satisfaction in every way service dependability pride and excellence just multiplies the value of what you've bought over and over again and he divides price into small units of Lifetime cost I hope you'll keep in mind that the initial price of this pension plan is not the true cost let me show you what I mean the after tax cost thousand dollars when divided by the number of employees in your probe will show a cost per employee well within your annual budget he doesn't fair price objections we don't have the money to start a plan like that right now he welcomes them and he uses them and they work for him the problem is one of today versus tomorrow according to your own p l statement your current cost for your retirement program is far in excess of the costs that I have projected here because if you actually divide the total cost among the top paid Executives in this Corporation that's the story add up the benefits the plus values of buying quality subtract the disappointments that could result from not buying quality multiply the intangibles the satisfactions that go with buying and owning quality and divide the higher initial price of quality into the years of extra service to get lower lifetime cost remember your price is right and it's up to you to sell it now to prove a point about price I started out here by trying to sell you something for obvious reasons you didn't buy so I'm going to try again but this time I'll do it right I'll show you what's in this box it's the tools by which you make more money get you more results per sales call reduce your turndowns and move you well along toward your goal of total success as a professional salesman all that and I'll also tell you the price believe me it's not cheap the price is your time and tough-minded effort in the form of self-discipline dedication and determination in using these tools from now on if you're willing to pay that price I'll promise you'll be getting the biggest bargain of your career I'll guarantee you will find the Price Is Right will you buy it [Music] foreign