You are in the middle of a sales process. The chemistry is great, and together with the client, you have developed a solid plan of action. The contract is within reach. However, now comes the price discussion. Often, from that moment on, the negotiations—or rather, the conversations—become significantly less energetic and enthusiastic. What a shame. How do you prevent price negotiations from becoming the major dealbreaker and, above all, the demotivating factor in your client journey? We have listed a number of possible strategies for you. Avoiding price is essential here.
Defend your price, in the interest of your customer
You have set a price for your customer. They would like to be offered a discount. Your answer is in good spirits: 'I will discuss it with my manager' or 'I will see what I can do for you'. At that point you are actually already resigned to offering a discount. Our advice is to turn it around: when your customer asks for a discount and you offer it, the direct consequence is usually that your service also decreases in value. You cancel services or products in order to offer the discount. That does not improve the quality. In short, a discount is not in the interest of your customer! Try to make this clear, dare to name it and make it clear what the loss of service is in the event of a discount.
Don't negotiate on price, but on the outcome
Price discussions are often the result of uncertainty. Your customer incorrectly estimates the value of your services because it is not clear enough what the outcome will be. In the preliminary phase, create a concrete business case with SMART goals together with your customer. If your customer wants to grow 5% in turnover via digital channels and you are the designated partner for this, make it clear how that 5% can be achieved and what it entails in terms of costs. Your customer is looking for change and a solution, take on the challenge and responsibility together to work towards the desired outcome. Therefore, negotiate about the outcome, not about the price, then the budget will follow automatically and it will be fully explainable.
Ask for something in return
We call it a negotiation, but that actually requires two parties. If we look very realistically, sales conversations are usually not a negotiation, but a very one-sided affair. Is your customer asking for a discount? Then turn it into a negotiation and ask for something in return. Give and take. Offering a discount may be beneficial for your organization if, for example, it provides better payment terms. So always ask for something in return for any discount or price reduction offered.
Get clarity about your price early
In addition to the above strategies to take the focus away from the pricing discussion, it also helps to address your pricing quickly and transparently. Do not wait with this tricky point until just before the award, because that will make your position a lot weaker. Address your prices at an early stage so that no discussion can arise about this. If the customer finds your price too high and is not willing to pay an amount acceptable to you, you can say goodbye to each other in a timely manner and everyone's valuable time will be saved.
Want to learn more about our sales tips, or further develop yourself as a salesperson? Then take a look at our range of sales training courses!
Prevent and handle objections and avoid price
Objections are not rejections, but opportunities. When a customer raises an objection, they are indicating that they are considering your proposal. That is positive. The key is to take the objection seriously, to ask about the underlying reason, and then to respond in a targeted manner. Not by dismissing the objection, but by showing that you understand what is on the customer's mind.
An effective technique is acknowledging the objection before responding. “I understand that the investment is substantial” works better than immediately becoming defensive. By showing acknowledgment, the customer feels heard and is more open to your perspective. You can then use concrete examples and calculations to demonstrate the return on investment.
Curious how to put this into practice? Our Expert in Sales Basics training at Kenneth Smit gives you the tools to get started immediately.
Read also
You can find more background information about avoid price at avoid price (Wikipedia).
