zandax online course logo
 
 
 
 
zandax 10 year anniversary
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home   >  ZandaX Blogs   >  Business Blog   >  Sales Articles   > 
5 Top Tips for Overcoming Price Objections

5 Top Tips for Overcoming Price Objections

 
Being more effective in your sales career
Invaluable advice for salespeople on how to convert a customer who's umming and ahhing about the price point into a sale
 
Article author: Ashley Andrews
      Written by Ashley Andrews
       (5-minute read)
You know the old-school ABC of sales: ‘Always Be Closing'. It's hardly practical advice, but it reminds us that closing the deal is everything to a salesperson. From finding prospects, to pitching, to negotiation, it's all designed to ease buyers towards a completed sale.

But one thing affects the outcome of your selling efforts more than anything else. Price. In fact, a prospect's biggest buying objection is price around 80% of the time.

It's hard to ‘Always Be Closing' when you have a price objection. For one, you might not have authority to negotiate on price. And for two, you don't really want to resort to discounting. Your job is to earn the most revenue possible, not just the most sales. And an unprofitable sale is worse than no sale at all.

So, what do you do?

Fortunately, this is not a new problem. Far from it. Salespeople have been dealing with price objections since the earliest civilisations, and techniques for countering them have been honed over centuries. Negotiation skills training will give you the strongest foundation to overcome price objections.

Even more fortunately, we've rounded up 5 of the best tips for overcoming price objections right here.

So, if you're looking to hone your sales skills and close more deals, read on.

Salesperson Closing A Deal

1. Know the competition

Our first tip is about preparation. While it's great to think on your feet, you won't be able to counter every price objection on the fly – unless you know your product and its competitors inside out, that is.

Often, you'll meet prospects who know your market almost as well as you do. They've put a lot of thought into their purchase, researching not just your product but the alternatives too. Many customers use this research as a bargaining tool, knowing they can counter your price offering with that of a lower-priced rival.

That's why you must be ready to show customers why lower-priced alternatives are poorer value overall. Be ready to educate customers on:

• Unique features of your product
• Weaknesses of competing products, such as missing features
• Favourable comparisons of product quality, after-sales service, customer satisfaction scores, or prices

Only with preparation can you overcome price objections related to competing products.

2. Understand their pain points

Experience teaches us that no two customers are the same. Each has different priorities, be they business growth, cost-saving, or convenience. And each has their own unique problems to deal with.

Yet when it comes to price objections, they all say roughly the same thing: "It costs too much!"

This conceals the differences between your customers. And it's hard to counter.

The solution is to get to know your customer and their pain points. Ask them about:
• What they're trying to achieve
• The obstacles that are holding them back
• The day-to-day issues that irritate them

Through these kinds of conversations, you won't just build up a great rapport with customers. You'll also discover new selling points for your product. So, when they say "It costs too much", you can point out how it solves Problem A, B and C they told you about earlier. And their price objection will quickly evaporate.

3. Justify the price

However shiny and innovative the product you're selling, most customers will initially underestimate how much research, experience, and production effort that went into make it. Many will minimise its value, saying things like, "Oh, it's just like <competing product> but with <the one feature they noticed>".

This misunderstanding is your opportunity to set them straight. Tell the story of the product and what makes it so special. You might include:
• All the ways the product saves the customer money. I.e. "It may cost a little more now, but it will pay for itself in the long run".
• A rundown of features the customer might not be aware of, and why they're so valuable
• Some insight into the R&D and production cost that went into making the product

Salesperson making call

4. Present and remove risk

Often, the price objections customers hold on to the longest are rooted in risk. This is especially true when you're selling a high-ticket product, which requires a big spend or investment up-front. In these cases, the customer is more likely to be cautious – even when they believe in the product and the value it brings. It's natural to have nagging doubts when spending a lot of money, after all.

The best way to ease these fears is to address them directly. Start with good preparation. Through analysis and experience, know the risks your customers will typically associate with your product. These will usually be around ROI, quality, after-sales service, and the longevity of your product.

You should be up-front about perceived risks, addressing them before the customer does if possible. This can increase your credibility, showing you understand the customer's needs and that you aren't trying to hide anything.

But you also need to be ready with proof-points that remove these risks. Good proof points include:
• Quality testimonials from satisfied customers
• Statistics that illustrate the value of the product. These could be from customer satisfaction surveys, independent research, or your own numbers on cost against savings.

A great way to present proof-points is in printed marketing collateral like brochures. These can serve as a reminder for you during meetings. And you can leave them with the customer afterwards.

5. Work on changing their value perception

Finally, you should keep in mind the important concept of value perception when countering any price objection. Value perception is simply what the customer thinks your product is worth.

But remember – the customer probably knows much less about it than you do. They may have flicked through a brochure, or seen a YouTube video, or they may be hearing about it for the first time from you today. So, when they say "It's too much", there's a good chance they aren't appreciating the true value of the product.

Use the tips in this article to change their value perception. You can also focus on:
• Features you know will be valuable to the customer
• Favourable comparisons between the product price and savings/value it offers
• Favourable price comparisons with competitors
• Risks of not buying the product, such as lost productivity or savings

All these things can increase the value of your product to the customer.

Now you're ready to sell more

Nobody can ‘Always Be Closing'. You can't complete the sale 100% of the time. But the next time a prospect says, "I'd love to buy, but the price is too high", you'll be well prepared to counter their objections with great reasons to buy. And you can greatly increase your conversion rate over time. You'll also have a lot more confidence when pitching and negotiating with customers.

Good luck!

See our Selling Skills courses!


If you'd like to learn more about selling skills, why not take a look at how we can help?

Boost your sales skills with our online courses.
RRP from $39 – limited time offer just $12.99

More Articles on Sales

Why Salespeople Need to Work Hard and Smart
Why Salespeople Need to Work Hard and Smart
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
Why do we waste time and effort on tasks that won't produce a desired result? One reason stems from the mantra that all new salespeople are taught to work harder. For those trying to improve their sales, they are handed ...
[ close ]
7 Must-Have Communication Skills for Success in Sales
7 Must-Have Communication Skills for Success in Sales
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
In sales, communication is everything. So here are our top 7 tips for improving your communication skills to ensure sales success.
[ close ]
10 Top Sales Techniques
10 Top Sales Techniques
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
Looking for ways to improve your sales skills? Activia Training has collected the top 10 tips for effective sales that will help you close more deals.
[ close ]
6 Ways to Improve Your Sales
6 Ways to Improve Your Sales
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
There is always room to improve as a salesperson, such as through Upselling. Sales Training has Basic Tips which can radically increase sales figures
[ close ]
9 Effective Sales Closing Techniques
9 Effective Sales Closing Techniques
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
How to close a deal in sales! Here, we give you 9 sales closing techniques that will see you close more deals, and be a better salesperson.
[ close ]
10 Ways to Train Yourself to Be a Great Salesperson
10 Ways to Train Yourself to Be a Great Salesperson
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
Unlike a common misconception, good salespeople can be made, as well as born, so see the 10 tips ZandaX recommends to drive your progress.
[ close ]
The 5 Best Tips on How to Prepare for a Sales Call
The 5 Best Tips on How to Prepare for a Sales Call
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
Sales calls can be tricky; but they don’t need to be. Having a consistent game plan for your sales calls can boost overall performance by as much as 50%. So, instead of winging your way to a “no”, here are five recommend ...
[ close ]
Why Do So Many People Fail In Sales?
Why Do So Many People Fail In Sales?
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
A large number of people that attempt careers on the sales industry fail. This article looks at those reasons and how to succeed instead.
[ close ]
Why Driving the Numbers Will Increase Your Sales
Why Driving the Numbers Will Increase Your Sales
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
Here are 7 specific types of figures that you should keep to help either improve your own or your team's sales. Add to your own KPIs for maximum effect.
[ close ]
10 Ways to Motivate A Flagging Sales Team
10 Ways to Motivate A Flagging Sales Team
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
10 Great Tips on how to get your sales team remotivated and delivering the kind of performance that you would expect of them.
[ close ]
How to Sell in a B2B Environment
How to Sell in a B2B Environment
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
There are real differences in selling to B2B (business) compared to B2C (consumers). This article looks at how to succeed in a business environment.
[ close ]
Can Animated Videos Help in Increasing The Sales of A Business?
Can Animated Videos Help in Increasing The Sales of A Business?
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
[ close ]
 

Write for us on the ZandaX blog

We're always looking for guest contributors to increase the variety and diversity of what we present.

Click to see how you can write for us:

 

The ZandaX Business Skills blog categories

Click a panel to visit the main category pages for the blog
Career Success
Career Success
Sales
Sales
[ This category ]
Marketing
Marketing
Presentation Skills & Public Speaking
Presentation Skills & Public Speaking
Customer Service
Customer Service
Microsoft Software
Microsoft Software

ZandaX Blog Contents

Want to see them all? Click to view a full list of articles in our blogs.

 
zandax online courses logo
"ZandaX courses are such great value, and with the help and support they give, there's no better option in the market"
ZandaX LinkedIn logo
ZandaX YouTube logo
ZandaX FaceBook logo
Course Categories
 
All content © ZandaX 2024