Three Closing Sales Questions

In most buying or closing sales conversations price becomes a focus or at least it should. We must know what the buyers acceptance level is with our price. If acceptance is high or low make sure you know the answers to the following questions.

1. Do they prefer your system, product, service or design over the competitors?
2. Are you the salesperson they prefer to work with?
3. Is your company who they prefer to work with?

If the answers to these questions is yes, it simply becomes a process of helping the buyer justify any additional upfront costs if they have not already. If they answer no to any of these questions, you need to understand where you have fallen short to satisfy.

You can’t always satisfy all three areas but you can still win the business. By knowing where you are preferred and where you are not will make it easier to justify your value by focusing on the areas of preference.

A powerful way to begin your discovery process is to inform your buyer that it is your hope that they can answer yes to the three questions by the time you present your final proposal. Explain you might be a little more thorough than other vendors, but it is because you want to make sure you make the best recommendation for their company.

Summary: People don’t buy a price, they buy what they want. The price they pay is the value they attach to what they want. If your product or service is the best or close to it, stop lowering price and help customers pay for what they want.

Miller Hieman has a good sales Article on Price if you would like to learn more about improving your ability to sell value.