Marc Wayshak of Game Plan Selling fame posted some great tips on selling more, and at higher prices. Go check it out.
I’ll add some bonus ideas:
- Give prospects more than one option. Sometimes, we don’t know exactly what we want, and it we can’t even really figure it out until we see our choices. By presenting “good/better/best” options, we can avoid getting priced out of some deals where prospects only wanted “good”, and avoid leaving money on the table when they want “best.” I did a project with a high tech company for about $100,000, which I was really excited about. It was very successful, helping them boost margins by over 10% in just a quarter. The controller said it was the best money he had ever spent, and he would have happily paid more. In fact, he mentioned he had another $100,000 in the budget that he’d like to use for the next phase. Before I could get that deal closed, the company re-orged and my contact went away, and with it, the budget that would have doubled the size of the project (and increased the benefits for the customer). If I had pitched a $200,000 project up front, I might have lost the deal, but if I should have offered both options.
- Talk about price and investment after you talk about benefits and value.
- Negotiating price is a healthy sign. Don’t be put off by this. Just anchor the discussion in the value, not the price. If someone wants less price, offer to remove value or do something else to create a mutually beneficial exchange. For example, a prospect might be price sensitive but not time sensitive. You may give them a discount if they allow for later delivery and work scheduled at your convenience. This gives the buyer the choice of what’s important to them. Often, when you talk about removing the differentiators that the buyer claimed not to value, they will come back and say, “actually, we really do want your premium support option– it’s worth the extra price compared to the competition.” You’ve protected your revenue and your margin.