by Jacques Werth
Most salespeople avoid answering the price question until after they have built value in the eyes of the prospect. How do you feel about a salesperson who dodges your questions about price when you are the buyer? Most prospects know exactly what the salesperson is doing and they resent it. That resentment ends in too many “I have to think it over” results.
At the beginning of the sales process many prospects ask about price. Most salespeople conclude that price must be very important to that prospect. However, less than twenty percent of major purchases (excluding commodities) go to the low price supplier.
Most of the top sales producers have a very different attitude when a prospect asks about price. They respond without hesitation, and give the prospect an authentic price range. Example: “Depending on exactly what you want, the price range is between $16,000 and $24,000. Are you able and willing to buy within that range?”
Top sales producers understand that most prospects who ask about price only want to know whether the price is in the ballpark of what they can and will pay.
If the prospect does not ask the price question early in the sales process, top sales producers bring it up. They want to know the prospect’s answer to avoid wasting time and emotional stamina on a prospect that is very unlikely to buy.
