Just like the jingle from Donald Trump’s reality show The Apprentice: “some people got to have it, some people really need it.” It’s all about the money isn’t it? No matter what product/service your selling it has to be for the “right price.” After a prospect goes through the Need Discovery phase it is now onto the budget.
We learned in class, that we need to be very comfortable talking about money with the client. This I find is the hardest part. Personally, I am a very empathetic person and I do not want to give them a bad deal. So do I take less money in a deal in order to feel better about a sale? I think the thing that we need to remember that as a salesperson, we are solution providers. The product/service that we are selling is simplifying that person’s life in some way. That’s why I believe that you have to believe in what your selling. If your selling a product to someone and deep down you feel like your ripping them off it’s time to reevaluate what your doing. The exchange should bring value to the customer and the seller.
I thought the budgeting questions that Professor Sweet gave to us our great tools to start talking about the budget. The budget is the elephant in the room that no one wants to address. Nevertheless, you cannot hide behind that elephant for too long or that sale is going to walk away. Asking questions like: “mind if we talk about budget for a minute” or “have you set any kind of budget parameters for this project” are great intro budget questions that can help get the ball rolling. Remember, you can’t be afraid to talk about the budget. It is a necessary part that cant magically disappear.
BoweryJE22
I think it is really important that we remember we are providing a good quality product or service. Even when we might be tempted to lower the price, we should believe in our business enough to know that what we sell is worth the fair price.
Agreed, Steve! The best part about free markets is that exchanges are voluntary and almost always positive sum–otherwise, you wouldn’t have 1/2 of your equation, a buyer or a seller. It’s definitely helpful to remember that we’ve giving something of equal value for whatever money we receive in turn.