What is Your Excuse?

One of the most frequently used excuses for losing a sale is the price excuse. Someone else gave the prospect a lower price. End of story. But I have a question: If the competition is the guy with the lowest price how does Rolls Royce, Gucci, and Tiffany stay in business? They dont sell the cheapest stuff on the planet.

If the price excuse was true everyone would own the lowest cost cars, live in the lowest cost homes, wear the lowest cost clothes and eat the lowest cost foods. Companies that sell luxury goods, in fact companies that sell everything but the lowest cost goods, would go out of business. Of course the price excuse isnt true unless you are selling a commodity where there are no points of added value or differentiation and remember, those purveyors of luxury products have made it their business to create added value differentiators and they communicate those differentiators very effectively.

Yes, there are some people who are seeking the least expensive products or services, but in most cases, the real truth is that someone who feels they lost a sale on price, generally did not create or demonstrate enough added value, points of differentiation, added features, or the added benefits of their product or service. If your prospect doesnt buy from you, while price may be part of the equation it usually isnt the only factor. The other parts of the equation have to do with the fact that you didnt really discover what they wanted, you didnt present yourself or your product well, you didnt demonstrate your ability to satisfy them, you didnt give them enough confidence, or you didnt communicate all the benefits that you deliver in addition to the commodity value of whatever you are selling.

In order to counter the price excuse, carefully think through your differentiators. Develop talking points for every one of them. Communicate them constantly and consistently. Make sure you discover your prospects needs and align your value added differentiators with those needs and you wont need the price excuse any more.

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, \"Front Lines with Larry Galler\" For a free coaching session, email Larry for an appointment - Larry@larrygaller.com. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com

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