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This weeks
Article....
Competing on Price in a
Down Market
How your thinking and actions can increase
margins
An article in USA Today
discussed the demise of a major
electronics supplier in the past
year.
One of the
major reasons the article sited was the
inability to sustain profits against the low
ball competition! Having had a reputation
for better service and added value, the
supplier cut its best and most experienced
people and moved to compete on price only!
Obviously a big
mistake!
The low ball competition had
lower overhead, understood the bottom
feeder mentality and could function on
the lower margins.
One might ask what this has to
do with me in selling equipment, services
or supplies.
Answer; there is always a lesson
to learn! If you are getting hit with the
price competition response the following
can give you an edge! …MORE…
Here is the deal, even with a
tougher financial market, customers are
looking for answers and many are more
open than ever! An
example is our own sales training. When
the phone is ringing off the hook no one
has time for sales training. But now when
the phone has slowed down, people are
aware they may need to approach their
sales with a higher skill level and are
looking for sales training and willing to
invest the time and dollars.
The reality is the customer is
looking for answers, not products! Those
that can provide answers and solutions
will get the sale and the customer long
term!
Meanwhile those that focus on
selling product will always be fighting
the price war and spinning their
wheels!
The first thing needed to give
you the edge is your own thinking and
attitude. One needs to realize that
customers now need solutions that work!
So ask yourself…
·
What really does my product or
service potentially solve for my
customers?
·
What can this solution do to
help my customer not only survive but
grow in this economy?
·
How can my customer measure or
realize a return on investment with my
solution?
Because you have analyzed your
product against the previous questions,
you now are thinking beyond your product
or service and more solution focused
versus product. This will give you a
mental edge over your product focused
competitors!
IMPORTANT: If you customer sees
no advantage, difference or added value
to your offering, then price is the only
decision point left.
Now because you are solution
focused the customers are seeing you. So
how do you get them away from a price
only decision?
Once more ask yourself these
questions, and then formulate open
questions to obtain the information from
your customers.
-
What really is your
customer's main objective, in their
words?
-
Are they and you able to
describe this end result clearly to
others?
-
What is their current
situation?
-
Why are they in this
situation?
-
What do they see needing to
happen to obtain their main
objectives?
-
What are the barriers or
obstacles they need to overcome to
meet their main
objectives?
-
What is in it for them, in
their words, if they could obtain
their main objectives?
-
What are they willing to do
to obtain their main
objectives?
Now stop and
really think about these questions! Can you
clearly answer each of them fully and with
total confidence?
If your answer is yes, then you
are most likely not experiencing the
price issue as much as others. On the
other hand should the answers be blank
you know where the problem is!
Here is the solution!
-
Invest the time to create
open questions to uncover the
information for each question
above.
-
Forget your product and ask
the questions to uncover this
information.
-
Listen, listen and listen to
what your customer is really
saying.
-
Ask lots and lots of
clarifying questions.
-
When the customer asks what
the solution is, then and only then
bring out your solution!
-
Enjoy the success, a new
relationship and a high margin
sale!
If you are skeptical about this
approach, find someone making $200,000 in
commissions a year and ask them about
it!
I have seen it before; things
are great and just about anyone can make
a sale. Things get tougher and the field
thins leaving only the professionals that
are willing to adapt and do things
differently.
To your success,
Harlan Goerger
Copy write 1-2009 Harlan
Goerger
Reprint in entirety only
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