People Buy Value Not Price

Ask yourself a question: “When I  make my purchasing decisions am I buying price or am I buying value?”  I think if you’re like most people, you’d agree that you buy value.

In all my years of selling, I have found that you cannot sell price. Maybe you can for a while, but if undercutting is all you do, eventually you will cut yourself right out of business emotionally and financially. What people actually buy is value, but it’s up to you to create the value equation.

Recently a HiGH OUTPUT client emailed this question to me :  “I have new technology in my office …. I have become very frustrated as a result of the excellent outcomes  we achieve but with  few people seeing past the $4,500 price tag.”

So, if it’s all about value, how do we create it to move past absolute price? In my opinion, there are 3 ways to create value:

1. Create value in self.
   By showing yourself as a professional, distinctly different, unique and truly interested in understanding the other party.
2. Create value in your company or business.
   By demonstrating how your company is best suited to your customer’s situation.
3. Create value in the product or service.
   By listening to your customer and showing them how what you offer addresses the needs wants and desires expressed as a result of your questions.

The only way to move past price is to connect at a deep level with your customer; to build trust with them.  Ask them intelligent questions about their current situation.  Ask them intelligent questions about what it would mean to them to fix the shortcomings of their current situation.  Spend some time exploringwhat’s important to them.  When you foucus on the customer by genuinely listening to them instead of trying to convince them, they begin to feel understood.  Once that happens they begin to trust.  They’ll tell you everything you need to know to make a relevant presentation if you’ll simply avoid the temptation to begin “selling”.

If you’ll do that, you will create value in your self and you’ll be able to create value in your product and price.  The power in selling isn’t in telling, it’s in asking listening and confirming that you understand!

Howard Olsen is President of High Output, a sales training company in Vancouver.  As a sales leadership keynote speaker  his positive profit producing messages help thousands of sales people and business professionals close more sales and influence without pressure or friction every year.