by Asa Beavers
Are you losing sales and don't even even know it? If a price shopper contacts your business, asks for your price and receives it no questions asked, chances are good they're not going to buy from your business. Why? Because they were not given any better reason to buy from you other than your price.
Consider this scenario: a landscape maintenance crew is working on a lawn in a neighborhood when the neighbor from across the street approaches one of the workers and asks how much they charge. The worker responds with the price of $40. The neighbor returns to their home across the street never to be heard from again. Or how about this scenario: a pet owner with a sick dog calls a vet clinic and asks the price of a medical visit. The person answering the phone responds with the price of $65. The caller thanks the person and hangs up; a lost lead.
How many times in your business has somebody who works for you given out a price or responded to a question from a prospective customer without ever asking a question or capturing the lead?
Think of your own experience, how many times have you called or gone into a business not really knowing what model, style, color or features you were looking for and purely asked for the price? At this point did the sales person come back with a price or did they ask you some questions about how you were going to be using the product/service? For example, let's say you're the neighbor inquiring about landscape maintenance.
Landscape maintenance is a matter of perspective; some people consider it just cutting and edging while others see it as maintaining trees, shrubs, beds, irrigation, and everything else in the yard. So if a worker or associate in your business is approached by a prospect, it's quite possible they aren't the right person in your business to respond to the customer inquiry. It's up to you to make sure they are trained to respond in an appropriate way in order to capture the lead. Create a system in your business that makes it simple for an employee to capture the lead and pass it on to someone qualified to respond to a customer inquiry.
As with any lead it's important that the prospect be contacted as soon as possible. Instead of providing an immediate price, what if the sales person simply said "thank you for your inquiry, just so I can help you best is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about the type of service you are looking for?" My bet is that your answer would most definitely be yes.
Now the sales person could then ask questions like; are you currently cutting your yard or looking to replace an existing service? What kind of activities do you enjoy doing in your yard? Do you have kids, animals? Do you enjoy working some in the yard yourself? Are there particular plants or colors you enjoy in your yard? How would you like your yard to look?
From these questions the customer gets the idea that the sales person is genuinely interested in them and the sales person is able to offer options most suitable to the prospect's needs. Once the sales person and the prospect have established a relationship, and agreed on the prospect's needs, the price is no longer the number one buying decision. A good sales person might then state, "well based on what we have just discussed your options are A, B or C, which one suits you best? Now it is just a matter of asking the customer how they would like to proceed.
Without a doubt, the sales cycle and the closing are going to vary depending on the type of product or service you sell. Although, chances are real good the sales cycle will never even get off the ground if price is allowed to be your prospect's only buying decision.
How does this apply to your business? First, no matter what, capture the lead from people who are price shopping. Second, everyone in your business can come into contact with a prospect, so make sure they are trained on how to handle the situation. Finally, when prospects are asking for the price, it's up to you to ask questions to find out what they are actually looking for and what's most important to them in their buying decision.
About the Author
Asa Beavers is a small business coach and consultant. He shares tips, techniques and strategies with smalll business owners to boost clarity and focus, create strategic action plans, and increase sales and profits. Visit his website at www.redlinebsg.com, email Asa at asa@redlinebsg.com, or call 919-367-0790.