Low price guessing works great, if you happen to be a game show host. But it doesn't work too well if you're in sales.
Sean Woodruff makes good observations about our posts here at LandingTheDeal, and he chimes in with another one below in response to my post on a desperate sales rep...
Whenever I am approached with "rate" selling or "quote" selling I always know I am dealing with an amatuer salesperson.
For any salesperson reading this I would ask, "If you sell by price, why are you necessary?"
I think the number one skill a salesperson should learn is to translate the value of a product or service into the world of the prospect. Without value any price is too much. It really is a bit insane to even discuss price until the value is translated to the prospect. It just makes no sense.
After this translation takes place, the transfer can take place. The sale is only a means of transfer of value. The prospect will transfer his value, money, to your company only if what you have is more valuable to him.
Prices are numbers with value association links in the mind of the prospect. If your approach is to come out of the gate with a number without building any links, you LOSE!
Sean is right. Once you hang your sales hat on "being the lowest priced" you sentence yourself to a life of "but wait, I can go even lower!" and your prospects constantly getting you into bidding wars with competitors. That's not fun, nor is it profitable.
It occured to me, after reading Sean's comment, that not once has this sales rep told me why their cost is justified, what makes them the best, or why I'd be nuts to shop them against anyone else.
***Note: It just occured to me that low, low pricing works great for Walmart. But it also occurs to me that you aren't Walmart, so...
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