Three Classes of Price Objections

Objections to price are the most frequent of all objections. The ability to meet these successfully is a valuable asset, and efficient selling is impossible without it. It is so important that every sales manager should take special efforts to see that each member of his sales force is able to meet successfully price objections.

Price objections may be divided into three classes:

1. Those which are not meant by the customers from the point of view of value, but that the prices are higher than they can afford to pay. These customers desire a cheaper grade of products.
2. Those which are made solely for the sake of argument. Many customers think it is their duty to make many objections in the course of buying, and their most frequent objections are to price.
3. Those objections which are made with all sincerity. The customers object because they sincerely believe that the prices are too high for the products. They are sincere in their objections, and believe in what they are saying.

When an objection is made to price, you should be able to tell to which class it belongs. If the products are too expensive, you should be able to read this, and to judge what the customer is able and willing to pay.

Many salespersons cannot tell this kind of price objection, and continue with arguments to prove that the price is satisfactory from the point of view of quality. This is not the cause of the objection made, and the customer knows it.

If the customer can afford to pay the higher price, in a few cases you may be successful. If this is the case, you should know it, and continue the plan of sale with that in mind. On the other hand, if the customer cannot afford to pay the higher price, the sale is lost.

Great number of sales people are not able to distinguish between these two classes of customers, and they wonder why they are not more successful.

Let me give you an example.

Recently, I was shopping for a Valentine’s day present for my spouse in a big retail store where I witnessed a conversation among the customer and a saleswoman.

The saleswoman showed to a customer a nice dress with a higher price tag. The customer said the price was too high. The saleswoman thought that she meant that there was not a value in the dress priced higher. Arguments were used to prove that the price was not too high considering the quality of the dress.

The customer repeated that the price was too high, and added that she wished to see something less expensive.

The saleswoman even then did not understand the reason for the objection, and continued with arguments to show value. Eventually, the customer went out without buying. The saleswoman wondered why she did not make the sale.

If she had been able to read human nature, she could have told that the objection was because the price was higher than the customer could pay. This being the case, the sale under ordinary circumstances would have been made if a products of lesser value had been shown.

Next time when you hear a price objection from your prospects, try to understand to which class of this three this objection belongs and than try to handle it properly.