“Just give me a price”

Some months ago, we posted a discussion on the LinkedIn Sales Training Drivers discussion board about price. Here was the question:

A prospect calls asking for a price. You suspect they’re just going to use it to try to get a better deal somewhere else. You try to engage them in a discussion about needs, values, etc., but they insist: “Just give me a price.”

Do you give them what they ask for?

Several respondents mentioned the importance of asking questions to understand the “why” behind the request. Because it may not mean what you assume it means.

Alice Kemper, for example, wrote: “I’ve been thinking of many of the inbound prospect calls and haven’t had the situation where I think they are trying to get a better deal elsewhere. I have found they are trying to find a firm within their budget. Each situation is different…”

Jason Hibbs wrote: “I would ask what he was going to do with the price … as a platform for more questions.”

Douglas Kolker makes a similar point: “How about if you find out why they are asking the question, instead of “suspecting” anything? Until we know why a suspect or prospect asks a question and exactly what they mean by it, how can we answer it and why would we try?”

The common thread here, of course, is that “price” means something different to every buyer. And you can’t talk about it until you understand what it represents on an emotional level, to this buyer, right here, right now.

Folks offered lots of other great insights. (You can check them out here.)

How about adding your two cents about the price question? Leave a comment below…

photo credit: quinn.anya