Mastering Price Objections | Ep 27

0:00 Welcome to the Impact Sales Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Beck, founder of The Sales Activist, and I am excited to be with you today. Today we're going to be talking about pricing objections. That's right, We're going to be digging into pricing objections and all that involves. You know, one of the things that many people struggle with in selling, especially selling at a very high level, is dealing with overcoming price objections. So today we're going to pull back the curtain. We're going to talk about pricing objections, how to overcome them, and how to remove them as a barrier to your success. So don't go anywhere. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the Impact Sales Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Beck, founder of The Sales Activist, and today we're going to be digging into how to overcome price objections the right way. Overcoming price objections the right way.

1:12 So you know, when it comes to pricing objections, many people feel that this is one of the most challenging objections that they have to deal with, the issue of price for their product, service, or offering, and it can hold back people for a lot of different reasons. So today we're going to be talking about this. We're going to be uncovering all the different challenges that you might face with this particular objection. We're going to talk about how to overcome those challenges, and most importantly, we're going to leave you in a place where you're comfortable and ready to deal with these challenges when they can't when they come up for you. You know, the reality is no matter what you sell, no matter what you're offering, is you know there are going to be time and circumstances where you are going to deal with the price objection or price objections, and you need to prepare yourself for how you are going to handle them. Now, for a lot of people, they struggle with this because it creates this anticipated sense or source of tension in the interaction.

2:23 So the first thing, as it relates to pricing objections, and this is one of the things that sometimes catches people right out of the gate, the first thing that you need to do when the issue of price comes up, and it comes up in the form of an objection from your prospect or your client, is the first thing is you can't get defensive about it. You can't get defensive if your prospect is pushing back as a result of the pricing that you are offering them. Don't get defensive about it. And the reason I share that is many people struggle with that pricing objection and they don't do themselves any great service when they initially respond to the prospects objection. Sometimes people naturally can come off or be perceived as being defensive about something. Maybe you just believe in your heart of hearts that your pricing is perfect the way it is, or it's necessary or whatever it is. Whatever your feelings are in the subject, they don't really matter. What matters is how you are perceived by your prospect So the first thing when it comes to dealing with price objections is don't get defensive about them when they come up. You know, pricing objections are a part of the process. You are going to hear them. Now.

3:47 You can handle these objections through a variety of different ways. But the one thing you never want to do is you don't want to make that process more complicated than it needs to be to make it harder. You don't want to create more work for yourself. And many times people fail in dealing with the price objection because they immediately get defensive, They immediately engage the prospect in a defensive way. At defensive tone. Maybe they try to press the issue as to well, why that person feels that way, and they come off more aggressively than they really should. Well, I'm going to tell you that's one of the worst things that you can do in those circumstances because what ends up happening is you end up creating this tension between yourself and your prospect, and sometimes it's very difficult to get beyond that tension. So if you're not going to be defensive, how are you going to respond? Your initial response needs to be calm and focused and centered around one point one thing, and that's understanding where that objection is truly coming from in your prospect. So the way you deal with that is you acknowledge that person's feelings on the price. Maybe say something like, you know, I can understand that, you know, maybe help me better understand specifically why you feel that way, but say it

5:21 in a way that's comfortable and conversational and not defensive. Get them to open up and share with you what the issue is. See, pricing objections sometimes are not true pricing objection Sometimes pricing objection that you may face is a smoke screen for something else. Maybe they aren't comfortable with something else about what you're discussing for them. Maybe they don't yet see the value, they don't understand the impact of what you're offering them, and the pricing objection is their default excuse to stop the process. Well, I can't afford that, or that's not going to work, or that number is too great, however they phrase it. Many people use that as the catch all objection to push back on somebody who's selling to them. But let's just say for conversation that that's not the case, that they are sincerely concerned about it, and sharing that concern in the form of an objection, you need to better understand their thought process as to why that is the case. Now, many times that objection comes from a place of misunderstanding of what you truly are offering. Maybe they don't understand the impact of what you're providing, maybe they don't see the value for themselves. And your only mission when they press back on you about that pricing as an objection is to better understand their state of mind, better understand

6:54 why they feel that way, and get them to open up it may be not necessarily a price objection. It may be the terms that are the issue. Maybe they're thinking, well, we've got to pay that all up front, or we've got to do this or that. There's so many other variables, but you need to understand the situation first. So number one, don't be defensive. Number two, absolutely try to better understand where that objection is truly coming from. Now, if that objection is coming from a place that they don't really understand the overall value of what it is that you're offering, or more importantly, they don't understand the impact that what you are offering will have on them, you need to take a step back and you need to revisit what those things are. And you say something like, you know, I really appreciate you sharing that with me. Maybe I haven't done a good enough job describing to you a few of the things that this offering will do, or maybe I haven't done a good enough job in helping you understand the impact that this will have on you yourself, your business, your finances, whatever it is that you're offering, you know, take ownership of that. One of the things that I will tell you that plays a significant role in your success in dealing with the price objection is

8:24 don't make it all about them. See this is interesting because in the sales process we talk a lot about it's all about them. It's all about their needs, their wants, their desires, what they are trying to accomplish, the impact of those things, and ultimately what it would mean to them. And that is absolutely true. But when it comes to objections, you need to flip that around a little bit and you need to take ownership of the issue. You take ownership of it. You don't be defensive. You take ownership of it. You know, I'm sorry, perhaps I didn't do a good enough job, or I'm sorry, you know, maybe I miss describing this point, or you know, perhaps I could have done better in preparing you for this. And the reason you do that is to dissipate or minimize any tension that you might be feeling between the prospect and yourself, because many times what happens is that tension that is going on between you and that prospect can sometimes escalate if you're not careful. And one of the most powerful statements that you can offer up somebody in a conversation, certainly in a sales environment is to say you're sorry, to cool the tension, to make it more conversational, And that's an important step in dealing with a price objection.

9:53 Maybe the price objection is because they have a misunderstanding and you own that. Or maybe they do have a good understanding and that objection is legitimate. So how do we know for sure? How do we know for sure? So how we go about doing that is by what I like to say, isolating the issue. See I said a few moments ago that many times people will use pricing objections as a smoke screen to veil other legitimate objections. They'll just use price, that's the catch all, and they kind of escape from there. What you need to isolate the true issue, and maybe price is it, but in the cases that it isn't. You need to figure out how you determine exactly what the issue is. And I'm going to give you a very powerful statement and question that you can offer up to your prospects that will enable you to be able to do that. Okay, So the way that you do that is by saying to your prospect I appreciate your feelings on the price. I completely understand. I'm sorry if I haven't done a good enough job describing all of this to you. But let me ask you this is price the only issue that is holding you back from wanting to do this. And

11:27 they may say, well, what do you mean by that, and all clarify it by saying if the price was something that you could easily afford, if it wasn't an issue at all, if it was a complete slam dunk, no brainer from a number standpoint, what I'm asking you is is price The only issue that would prevent you from moving forward? Is that it is that it? Or are there other things that concern you? Now, if somebody says, no, I love what you're offering, absolutely want to do it, wish we could do it, it is truly the price. Well more than likely that is the real objection. That is what you are focused on. But if they all of a sudden pause or stutter or hesitate in their response to whether or not they would do it, you need to explore further what that potential issue may be, because I'm willing to bet that it is something specific that you haven't addressed. And along those lines, you need to think carefully back through the sales process. One of the things that people that succeed at a very high level in sales do, and they do very very well.

12:45 Is they maximize and leverage impact in every stage of their interaction with their prospect. I provide this and it has this impact, or I'm speaking to my prospect. Prospect shares with me that this is important to them, and I explore impact. Here's what I mean. They say that their biggest issue is X. You spend all of your time talking about X and what X means to them and what it will do for them if it was corrected or changed or improved or enhanced, whatever X might be. Elite sales professionals, people that perform at a very very high level, understand that intuitively and instinctually that they need to focus on what impacts their prospect. Now. The reason why I'm mentioning that as it relates to pricing objections is if you do a very thorough job in exploring impact with your prospects, when the issue of price comes up, it goes from you know, I can't afford it to how can I afford it? And here's why. If you do an elite job of exploring with somebody what they're going to get and what it's going to mean to them and the impact that we'll have on their life, their finances, their business, whatever it is that it's targeted towards.

14:12 If you do an elite job highlighting that and get them to express how important that would be. When the issue of pricing comes up, they are going to want to figure out how to make it happen. And in many cases it becomes an opportunity mindset. See, people have a tendency of viewing things through two general lenses, and I'm going to tell you this, this is universal with people. People either view things through an obstacle lens, like they look at things as obstacles, or they are free thinking and open minded and they view things as opportunities. So it's no different with pricing. If somebody is sitting there with a price consideration and they really want to do what it is that you're talking with them about, they could look at it in one of two ways. They could look at that price as a complete obstacle, and that obstacle is difficult for them to work through. And those types of people are challenging or more challenging to work with because their lens is based upon obstacles. Now, I'm not saying they're negative people. I'm saying that they view things as obstacles. Other people look at challenges as opportunities.

15:35 There's two ways that you can look at things. If you are dealing with people that view things as an opportunity, they will tend to be more open to working with you on figuring out a solution, figuring out how to get them to where they want to go, figuring out the price objection. So one of the things that you need to do to overcome the price objection is to do a more thorough job in your sales inner, in your sales process, in moving them towards that opportunity lens. Not that they'll be like that in everything that they do, but to make them positive and confident and willing to view ways of getting what they want. And I'll give you a quick example. If you're talking with somebody about how important it is to them that they achieve certain things within their business or personally, and you get them to open up about what it would really mean to them, what it would mean to their finances, their family, their relationships, their stability, and you get them to really open up and talk with you about those things. Well, when it comes to the price objection, when it comes to the issue of how they make it happen, you can casually phrase to them, you know I can sense how important that is. Let me ask you this, do you consider yourself somebody who is solution oriented? Are you open minded to view how you can solve problems? Now? Most people are going to say yes to that question. And you know,

17:10 the reason why you ask that trial closing question that way is to put them in the mindset that they need. They should be open minded, and they should be looking at it as an opportunity. And I've gone as far in many sales interactions and in live presentations and in a variety of different formats of saying to people point blank, there are two ways that people look at things. You can either look at this as an obstacle or you can look at this as an opportunity. How do you view it? Now? This is extremely important when it comes to talking with people about pricing objections, because pricing objections are one of those things that if people get it into their head that it is just not possible, not gonna be able to do it, can't do it if they have an obstacle mindset you will struggle to get them beyond it. Even when you come up with a solution, they will still struggle. So you need to try to subtly move them into that opportunity lens, that opportunity minded perspective. Now, when somebody has identified that price is not the actual objection, you do need to thoroughly go back to figure out specifically what the objection is. And you do it the same way that I just described the pricing objection, because if you don't uncover what the real objection is, pricing

18:42 will always be there as the objection. They'll use that again as the default setting. You know, there's two things that people talk about when it comes to objections. It's the you know, I want to think about it, I'm not interested objection, or you know, it's too much, or it's the price objection. So it's going to land in one of those categories. So when somebody says that price isn't the reason why, that there's some other reason that would hold them back, you need to figure out what that reason is. And when you've gotten them to open up and talk about that, you need to say, okay, So if that issue was addressed, if this was addressed to your satisfaction, and you were comfortable with that not being a concern, or that being addressed, or you getting that in this opportunity, would you move forward? Then you isolate that issue and you work through however many issues there are, until you have isolated and removed them all. Now, that is when pricing isn't the real objection. So how do you handle pricing when it is the real objection, where it truly is the reason why they can't do it? Well, that's a little different. And the way you handle that is to be able to say to people point blank, Look, I want to figure out a way that we can work together. I have no doubt that we can deliver on the things that I'm offering today, and I really want you to receive the benefit and have them impact

20:13 you in the way that I could tell would be important to you. So what will you work with me? Are you open to discussing how we could work through a plan to make that happen. It may not necessarily look exactly the way I've outlined it here, but are you open to solutions? Are you open to getting creative? Now, you'd be amazed how many times people miss opportunities to generate a significant sale because they aren't willing to ask somebody, are they open minded and would they be creative? You don't know really what the issue is when somebody says pricing.

20:57 It could be that they don't have the money today and they're count but they will have it tomorrow. It could be that they could afford it in installments but they haven't offered that up. It could be that they will never have the money. That should be determined as well. But the bottom line is this. You have every opportunity to work out some satisfactory compromise in whatever that price objection is. Maybe it's an installment payment, Maybe you help line them up with financing. There's a whole other opportunity for you and your business. You create relationships with finance partners that can help your clients when they need that capital to be able to work with you. Or maybe you just collectively work with them to agree that I can't do everything that I would love to do with you, but if your budget is X, I could then provide these things or this thing. See too many times people think that price objection is a barrier or an obstacle that results in an all in or all out result, and that's just not the case. See. The reality is, you can work out all kinds of compromises with somebody if you can't get them to work with you in the entirety of what it is that you are working with or offering them, figure out a way to do something with them, to do something with them. And I've

22:31 gone as far as to say, look, you know, you and I have spent some quality time together. I've gotten to know you, your organization, what you're trying to do, and I tell you, I really want to work with you. I want to work with you because I love what you're doing. I want to be part of that story. I want to know that I am helping you take that next step. Now. I understand it may not look the way I'm originally intending it to look, But how can we work together? Is there something in what I offer that we could start with and then build from there, build from there. See, sometimes the opportunity is one where you just need to get your foot in the door and start working with somebody, start working with them, building success, enhancing their relationship, solidifying your trusted advisor status in their eyes, proving to them your worth, you know, just completely overcoming their expectations and showing them how good it is to work with you and creating the opportunity for future business.

23:39 Maybe we can't do it all now, but maybe we could do twenty percent of it, or forty percent of it, or sixty percent of it, or whatever percentage works for the client. So don't let the price objection becoming all in or all out offering. Now, maybe based upon what you offer, it has to be you know how it's structured. I don't know. What I know is if two people have a common goal and they collectively agree to get creative and work on the solutions and collaborate, a true collaboration and figuring out how to get to the desired outcome, greatness can occur. Amazing things can happen. Things don't always look or go as according to plan. Right. We all know that things don't turn out sometimes the way we expect them to turn out. But if I can get a quarter or the way or a half of the way where it needs to be, and I can prove my worth in the eyes of my client, I'm willing to go back and figure that out. Now. Here's an important consideration when it comes to that pricing objection and that situation if you're going to make a compromise, if you're going to come off maybe what you've originally offered, because pricing is the objection, to make sure when you make that concession in the terms that you do it with a mutual agreement that when the time is right, you will make up what you originally offered. Say to them, Look,

25:13 if I'm willing to work with you, and I can, I can do fifty percent of this for this price. When we get to the point that you're satisfied and comfortable and capital ready to do the next phase, can I have your agreement that we will do the rest? Can I have your agreement that we will do the rest? Now? Why is that important? Because sometimes people in dealing with price objections and this is the right way versus the wrong way, they will discount aggressively. Nothing wrong with that if it's necessary, Okay, if it's necessary, but they will forget to get a tentative agreement to complete and go back to what was originally proposed. They forget to make that part of the deal. Now, I've even gone as far as saying to people, you know, I'm willing to work with you on this one, but next time around, I won't be able to do the same things I'm giving.

26:12 I want to work with you so badly that I'm willing to make this concession, and all that they ask is when I deliver, which we will deliver for you. When we deliver, you're willing to agree and move forward with the other things that I've proposed. Does that work for you? Now? Why is that so powerful? That's because a lot of people leave money on the table when it comes to pricing objection. Now, sometimes it happens immediately. Sometimes they forget to go back for it. Sometimes because they get themselves so upset, so anxious, so defensive about pricing, they miss the golden opportunity to solidify the relationship and at least get something started versus nothing, something versus nothing.

26:59 As long as you can do that and move your business forward, your success will continue to rise, your goals, your sales results will continue to improve. But you can't let pricing objections slow you down. So you can't be defensive. You need to try to work with people towards created massive value and impact. You want to make sure along the way, wherever possible, that you plant the seeds of them. Viewing things through an opportunity lens instead of an obstacle lens. You need to make sure that you isolate pricing as the true objection, and if it is, you need to work through compromises. If it isn't the real objection, you need to work through determining what the real objection is, because if you don't, the pricing objection will always be there and will always hold you up. But work through the other objections what they truly might be. Isolate them, get them dealt with, and come back to the issue of finalizing it based upon the price. And when price is the last thing that's left, then you get to do the work. Then you get to figure out, how can we make this happen. Can we have that opportunity lens on this situation. Can we view it as an opportunity and not an obstacle? How do we work together to make this happen? Because I want to work with you now. Pricing objections, like any other objections, that can

28:30 either trip you up and slow you down, or that can just become something that you work through and help solidify your relationships with your prospects and your clients. I hope today's info that I've shared during this session has opened your eyes to the benefit of dealing with price objections the right way. The right way, And I know for many people, pricing objections create a lot of anxiety and stress in the sales process. And I'm hoping you go back and rewatch this and remind yourself of the simple steps that you need to take to avoid this from becoming a problem, because it does happen for sometimes for people to deal with these things in a way that can stress them out, and I want to kind of take that stress away. So you know, a lot of great information that we're covering. I'm happy to be talking about this subject today because I literally just a couple of hours ago out of conversation with somebody about a pricing objection. It was a really unique situation. This was top of mind, and I wanted to make sure that I shared this with everybody. So we've gone through a lot. I'm going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. And we're back. This is Joe Beck and the Impact Sales Podcast. I want to thank you for joining us today in this session discussing how to overcome price objections the right way. Look, if you

30:00 are anxious about dealing with price objections, if you feel that they are holding you back or limiting your success in selling, I would love to be a resource and help you through that challenge. Feel free to reach out to me directly at the Salesactivist dot com or text my digital assistant. Just text the word sales to the number four oh nine five oh nine seven three five five. Be happy to jump on a call and support your efforts and help you overcome price objections the right way. This is Joe Beck and this has been the Impact Sales Podcast. We'll see you soon. Take care,