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Objection Overruled!
(Part Four of Four Dynamite Suggestions for Overcoming Price Objections!)
By Chris Croner, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Article Date: August 7, 2006
Watch your emotions. Every salesperson has had their buttons
pushed at some point by a difficult customer. Some customers will
try to get under your skin, especially if they think you will give them
a better deal just to get rid of them. Some customers wear this
tactic as a badge of honor -- bullying salespeople gets them a better
price, and lets them feel powerful. In his book, Crush Price Objections,
Tom Reilly recommends that your first reaction to hearing an objection
should be to take a slow deep breath. This will help you gather
your thoughts and avoid a hasty response.
For example, let's say
a customer responds to your price with something like, "What kind of
idiot do you think I am? You must have rocks in your head if you
think I'm paying a price that high!" Your first instinct might be
to get defensive or just lower the price to get him off your
back. But the best salespeople slow down and relax in a moment
like this. They know that this objection is really more about the buyer's deeper psychological needs.
The buyer probably has a habit of being nasty to salespeople because it
has worked well for him in the past. It has nothing to do with a
personal grudge against the salesperson.
Knowing this, top
salespeople take a deep breath, focus themselves, and calmly handle the
objection. In this case, as Reilly recommends, they might use
empathy: "Mr. Buyer, I know price is very important. But, just
like you, we compete on the quality
of our work, not the price. This causes us to occasionally lose
some business. But, we gain a lot more than we lose -- and I hope
that will not happen here." If the buyer persists in asking for a lower
price, try the other tactics we have reviewed over the last three
weeks, including changing the package by removing value.
The
most important thing to remember is to keep a cool head. Gently
let the buyer know that you understand the concerns -- but stick to
your guns, and get the price you deserve!
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