Do These things for a Less Awkward Conversation about Price

“How much does it cost?” is the most dreaded question that sales reps face during sales calls. A survey conducted by leading CRM software firm HubSpot indicated that overcoming price objections was among the top three challenges for sales professionals. 

Yet, price is one of the key factors for closing a deal, since 7 out of 10 buyers in B2B sales consider it the number one qualifier.

So, is it okay to go ahead and straightaway give a quote? No! 

By quoting a price first or offering a range, your sales reps cannot highlight the value and instead get pigeonholed into justifying and discussing price. Therefore, it is important to never talk price but to talk value. To remember this, make these words of Warren Buffet your mantra during value vs price conversations: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

Here are some quick tips for selling value over price:

1. Use the power of information
2. Determine the lead source
3. Empower the prospect
4. Make it an investment, not cost

1. Use the power of information:

Solving, and not selling, is the best way to show value. And sales reps armed with information are better positioned to understand the prospect and offer solutions for any issues they might be facing. Even if you are cold calling, prep yourself by going through your company CRM. You can also check the prospect’s social media profiles like LinkedIn, their company website and speak to their contacts in the industry to gather more insights. 

2. Determine the lead source:

Tracking the  lead source  will also help your reps understand the interests, pain points, and the prospect’s likelihood to convert. Moreover, 

92% 💁
92% of buyers are likely to trust referrals offered by someone they know, and 

4X 🕵️
four times more likely to make a purchase when recommended by a peer.  

3. Empower the prospect:

Encourage your prospects to make an informed decision by empowering them with a vision of the benefits they can achieve with your offering. When the prospects are evaluating price and value, a sales rep should never defend the price. Instead, they should talk in terms of better quality, improved performance, service commitment, etc achieved through the offering. To help the customer learn more about ROI, sales reps can share company resources like case studies and whitepapers.

4. Make it an investment, not cost:
Sales reps can emphasize selling value by using the term ‘investment’ instead of ‘price’ or ‘cost’. This will subtly transform the prospect’s perception of your offering from a cost center to a revenue center. 

How to avoid awkward price conversations 

Some prospects might insist on having a price conversation and put sales reps on the spot. But a star sales rep will agree to discuss price in a manner that will turn the spotlight on the value offered instead. Here are some examples of sales scripts your reps can use:

1. “I won’t go ahead unless I know the price.”
   “I can send you a quote. But before that, I would like to understand your needs better. This will help me offer a fair deal to not only addresses your needs but also give better ROI.”
   
   
2. “I have received quotes from other vendors. Why aren’t you sharing the same?”
   “We would like to offer an accurate quote for our product/service, which we can generate once we establish how our product/service can exactly fulfill your unique needs.”
   
   
3. “I have compared quotes on websites; why does your website not show any quote?”
   “We don’t think one size fits all. Hence, we want to understand your unique needs and challenges and then offer a comprehensive solution.”
   
   
4. “I insist that you share the price.”
    “Can you please tell me what your budget is?”
   
   
5. “I won’t tell you my budget. Just give me the price.”
   “I would like to draft a deal that is highly suitable to your specific requirements. To do so, I would need to understand what your challenges are and how we can address them.”
   

Leveraging technology in selling value vs price

While these best practices can help sales reps turn many prospects into sales, advanced technology like Conversational Intelligence (CI) allows them to take it up a notch. CI platforms like Salesken offer real-time cues to help reps effectively navigate customer objections and enable value selling.

Salesken can analyze speech to detect meaning and emotion during a sales call and assist reps by recommending the next best steps. Sales leaders also get detailed analytics and diagnostics that can help in improving the rep’s performance.

Want to know more about how Salesken can help during sales conversations? Book a demo  now.