How jumping straight to price can make value harder to establish
“How much does it cost?”
It sounds like a straightforward question. So the salesperson gives them a straightforward answer.
“$4,500.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll get back to you.”
And just like that, the conversation is over. The salesperson may have answered the customer’s question, but they may also have missed an important opportunity.
Because when a customer asks for a price before the salesperson understands what they actually need, price can become the main thing being compared. And once the conversation is about price, it can be much harder to establish value.
Price isn’t always the real question
When a customer asks, “How much?”, they aren’t necessarily saying price is the only thing that matters. They might be trying to understand whether the solution is within their budget.
• They might be comparing several providers.
• They might not understand what is included.
Or they may simply be looking for enough information to decide whether it is worth continuing the conversation.
The salesperson needs to understand what sits behind the question.
Instead of immediately responding with a number, a salesperson can acknowledge the question and ask something like:
“Absolutely. There are a few factors that can affect the price. Can I ask you a couple of questions first so I can give you an accurate figure?”
This keeps the conversation moving while creating an opportunity to understand the customer’s situation.
You can’t establish value before you understand the problem
Imagine a customer is looking for a new business system. The salesperson immediately provides the price. The customer now has a number, but they don’t necessarily understand what they are getting for that number.
The salesperson hasn’t established:
| What problem the customer is trying to solve |
| How significant that problem is |
| What the current situation is costing them |
| What outcome they are looking for |
| What is important when selecting a solution |
| What risks they want to avoid |
| What would make the investment worthwhile |
Without this information, it becomes difficult to demonstrate value. The customer can easily compare “$20,000” with another supplier’s “$15,000”.
But if the salesperson has uncovered that their solution will save the customer significant time, reduce errors, improve productivity and solve a problem that has been frustrating the team for months, the conversation becomes very different. The price is still $20,000. But the context around the price has changed.
Questioning comes before pitching
Good salespeople don’t just provide information. They uncover information. This is where quality questioning becomes so important. Before talking about price, the salesperson should be trying to understand the customer’s needs, priorities and desired outcomes.
Questions might include:
• “What are you currently using?”
• “What prompted you to look at changing?”
• “What isn’t working with the current approach?”
• “What would you like to improve?”
• “What is most important to you when choosing a solution?”
• “What would success look like for you?”
These questions create a much clearer picture of what the customer actually values. They also allow the salesperson to tailor the conversation rather than delivering a generic pitch.
Don’t be afraid to talk about price
This doesn’t mean salespeople should avoid the price question. In fact, avoiding price completely can damage trust. The issue is when and how the price is introduced. If a customer asks for a price, the salesperson should be comfortable discussing it. But where possible, they should first establish enough context to explain what the customer is getting and why it matters.
Think about buying a car. If someone simply told you, “This car costs $65,000,” you wouldn’t necessarily know whether that was expensive or reasonable.
But if you knew it included the features you need, reduced your running costs, came with a strong warranty and solved specific problems with your current vehicle, you would have more information with which to assess the investment.
Sales conversations work the same way, value gives price context.
When price becomes the only comparison
If the salesperson introduces price too early, they can unintentionally turn the conversation into a comparison exercise.
The customer asks:
“How much?”
The salesperson answers.
The customer asks another provider.
“How much?”
Then another.
“How much?”
If all three salespeople are providing similar answers without first understanding the customer’s needs, the customer may simply choose the cheapest option. The salesperson has made it difficult to differentiate. This is particularly dangerous when the business genuinely provides greater expertise, service, quality, reliability or outcomes. If those differences haven’t been established, the customer may never know they exist.
Teach your sales team to slow down
One of the most valuable sales skills is knowing when not to answer immediately. That doesn’t mean deliberately withholding information. It means recognising that a customer’s first question isn’t always the question that should determine the entire sales conversation. The salesperson’s job is to understand before recommending.
• Ask questions.
• Listen carefully.
• Explore the customer’s situation.
• Identify the problem.
• Understand the desired outcome.
• Then position the solution around what matters to that customer.
And when price does come into the conversation, it has something important supporting it: value. Because the goal isn’t simply to tell customers what something costs. The goal is to help them understand why the investment makes sense for their particular situation.
To find out more about the importance of training your sales team to sell on value rather than price, click here.
Is your sales team too quick to talk about price?
If your salespeople are regularly discounting, losing opportunities on price or giving quotes before they have properly understood the customer’s needs, the problem may not be your pricing. It may be the sales conversation.
At KONA Training, we provide tailored Sales Training for sales teams, focusing on practical skills including quality questioning, active listening, identifying customer needs, communicating value, handling objections and progressing opportunities.
Contact KONA Training today to discuss tailored Sales Training for your Sales Team and help your salespeople have better conversations before they start talking about price.
Call 1300 611 288 or Email info@kona.com.au
Author – Garret Norris – https://www.linkedin.com/in/garretnorris/
