Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
Home 9 Message from the Mentor 9 Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

by | Jan 29, 2015 | Message from the Mentor

Timing is everything. In sales, waiting until price discussions to articulate the Features, Advantages and Benefits of your Solution will cost your dearly. In his recent Forbes blog, The No. 1 Reason Why Salespeople Leave Money on the Table, Stephen Meyer makes a compelling argument for sales professionals to “shut up” once they’ve asked for the business and shared price. Meyer cites research that reveals buyers feel they are being pushed into a corner when the salesperson adds justifications as part of the price presentation, and will actually push back on those justifications. Notice his use of the term “justifications,” because that’s how Features, Advantages and Benefits are perceived when delivered in tandem with pricing. Meyer writes, “Justifications are perceived by the buyer as an attempt to take control. Just stating your price and remaining silent leaves the buyer in control. For whatever reason, buyers who feel they’re in control are less likely to undermine your value proposition and demand a lower price.”

Think about this insight in the context of the *DPS Presentation Diamond*, in which the Proposal, Solution and Summary Steps provide the appropriate opportunity to confirm the GAP, and then share the Features, Advantages and Benefits of the proposed Solution. Response Checks throughout these steps prevent pushback later in the Close step, when price is attached to the proposed Solution. Meyer writes, “there is of course an appropriate time to lay out your value proposition – early in your discussions as you’re conducting discovery (Exploratory Process) and mapping your product or service to customer needs (Proposal, Solution steps). Just don’t do it late in the sales cycle when you’re negotiating price.”

Often it isn’t a case of the sales professional waiting until the Close/pricing discussion to identify FABs, but feeling compelled to articulate the FABs AGAIN as s/he is sharing price. As Meyer put it, “As hard as it may seem, you’ll get a higher price if you just say, ‘here’s what it costs,’ and then shut up.” To put it in kinder terminology, once you’ve shared pricing associated with your Solution, less talking will reap more reward.

*DPS Dimensions of Professional Selling sales training program by Carew International

Great Selling!

You may also be interested in…

8 Strategies for Demonstrating Your Leadership Potential

8 Strategies for Demonstrating Your Leadership Potential

So, you’re primed for the big leagues. You know your organization’s systems and processes like the back of your hand, deeply understand your market and customers, have mastered time management, and consistently exceed your sales targets. Now you’re ready for a more impactful leadership role.

read more
We Are All “Selling” Something

We Are All “Selling” Something

One of the (many) things I absolutely love about Carew’s sales training programs is that we don’t just train sales professionals and sales skills. As our CEO Jeff Seeley likes to say, “We train people skills” – listening, effective communication, negotiation skills, rapport, relationship building, presenting, conflict resolution, and the list goes on. These are all things that people across all professions use every single day.

read more
Selling the Gap

Selling the Gap

At Carew, you will hear us talk a lot about the Gap. So, what exactly is it? The Gap is what exists between your customer’s ideal and actual – the Gap between what could be and what is. Gaps are always outcome-oriented and can almost always have an up or down arrow associated with them.

read more