1.65 Billion Dollars! By Steve
Waterhouse
For those of you who have a tough time quoting your
list price to your customers because you are afraid of
what they might say, try this exercise: Ask someone for
$1.65B and try not to choke!
When I heard the news that YouTube had sold to Google
for $1.65B (with a B), I thought of all of the times I
have helped sales people overcome price objections. It’s
amazing how much we impose our own limitations on the
client. We say, “We could never afford that” or “I would
never pay that much” or “Everyone knows you can get it
cheaper somewhere else”. Those are the words of sales
people who do not place a high enough value on their
offering and their own value to the customer.
In every negotiating program we teach, “The one who
says a number first, loses.” Why? One reason is that
there are only two possibilities if we quote a price
first. Either we will be too high or too low. In my
experience, few sales people risk being too high. Why?
What are you afraid of? Look at it this way: if you
quote too low, you instantly lose commission dollars and
profit for your company. If you quote too high, you get
guidance from the client on where your price should be.
I know that their guidance can be a bit abrupt, but you
can handle it!
I coached my daughter last year when she was asking
for a big raise. She had her upper number and planed to
ask for it. Just for fun, I had her stretch her top
limit to the biggest number she could imagine the boss
approving. She was certain that she would never get that
and refused to ask for it. The next day, her boss called
her in and, without prompting, offered her a raise. It
was the big number we had discussed! Wisely, she
accepted it.
The lesson? Our clients often see more value in your
offerings and the service you and your team bring than
you can possibly imagine. Don’t sell yourself short.
This week try this exercise. Ask every prospect, “If
my offering does everything I promised it will do, what
will it be worth to you?” Ask every client, “How much
money do you make or save by as a result of buying my
product or service?”
Tip: When you get a great answer, capture it in a
reference letter!
Now go sell something, and drop me a note to let me
know how it goes. I always love hearing from you.
Steve Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse
Group (www.waterhousegroup.com), a sales consulting and
training company that helps companies dramatically
increase their sales. He can be reached at
1-800-57-LEARN or
info@waterhousegroup.com.
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