Your Prices Are Too Low—Start Selling on Value!

Have you said the following?

“I had to lower my price in order to close the deal.” Or: “If we raise our prices, people will go somewhere else.”

I hear this blasphemy all the time. Worst of all, these comments are simply untrue. Now, are there some prospects out there that only care about price? Yes. But they are in the minority and there are more prospects out there that put price well below other factors. Here are three ways to sell at higher prices:

1. Stop Obsessing on Price: So often, the inclination to lower price is coming from the head-trash of the sales person. Have you ever been near the goal line with a prospect and your instinct was to simply lower your price in order to push the order through? You’re not alone, but this isn’t necessary. Let go of the idea that lower prices = more sales.
2. See High Price as an Asset: My friend took me to a department store once and held two shoes side by side. They looked almost identical. She asked, “What do you think each of these shoes costs?” One of the shoes turned out to be $70; the other was $600. What was the difference? One had the guts to be higher. Everyone, on some level, believes that you get what you pay for. If your price is higher, be better than the competition and your clients will appreciate buying the premium service.
3. Help the Prospect Create Value: Your product or service ultimately helps clients achieve outcomes. If your product, for example, helps a company save $1M over the course of a year in lost productivity, then what is that worth to the prospect? The answer is that it’s probably a lot more than what you are charging for your prospect. Help prospects calculate what solving those problems is actually worth to them and watch resistance to price dwindle.

It is time to let go of our focus on low price—it is not only lowering our margins, but also decreasing our value in the eyes of the prospect.

Marc Wayshak is author of the book Game Plan
Selling and a sales keynote speaker.