If You think It’s All About Price – Get Out of Sales

I recently spent some time with an extremely senior group of sales people from one of the world’s biggest companies, who told me that everything was down to price.

No it isn’t.

Take for example their business. Ten senior sales people, big cars, expenses accounts, support staff – that’s a cost per person of at least £100,000 a year.

So that team of ten cost at least one million pounds to keep on the road – and they were a tiny percentage of the entire sales team.

When I suggested to them, that if all their problems were indeed down to price – and that the sales team could make no difference whatsoever – then surely getting rid of just those ten salespeople and changing the business model to a click down menu on a website, would save the business at least one million pounds.

If we did that, we could knock £1 off a million units immediately – if it was all down to price, then that’s the problem solved.

They didn’t like that idea at all.

But that unfortunately is the undeniable truth.

If the sales team don’t know or can’t explain the difference between their business and a lesser priced competitor – they become an expensive folly.

What the Buyers said;

“What’s the point of sales people who are unable to justify their mark-up percentage and margins?”

“Of course I’m going to hammer everyone down on price, that’s my job. That doesn’t mean to say I want tat! Getting the job done and receiving great value is what I’m paid for too.”

Solution

Work out the 5 reasons you are better value than the competition and then learn how to explain that to your customers.

Remember, evangelists don’t try and tell you about heaven to secure their place, they’re already going. They tell you because they don’t want you to miss out on paradise.

That is how you should be with your product or service. Get in there and help prospects make great buying decisions before some con artist tries to rip them off, overcharge them or sell them something they didn’t need or don’t want.

Watch a short Video relating to this article HERE

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The piece above is taken from an article which appeared in this month’s Institute of Sales & Marketing Management’s Winning Edge Magazine – which I wrote after asking almost half a million professional buyers one simple question; “How do most sales people let themselves down?”

Once I’d worked my way through the answers, it turned out there were 7 recurring issues that caused salespeople to lose the sales that they really didn’t need to – here’s a sneak peek of the entire article if you missed it.

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Thanks for reading this article. On my blog, I regularly write about Sales, Sales Management and Customer Service issues, topics and trends.

I’d also be delighted to connect via Twitter and of course, through Varda Kreuz Training.

Here are some of my other recent posts:

Why Salespeople Should Learn How to Sell Lemonade

Is Your Sales Team Culture Pirate Ship or Battleship?

Sales Training – Do You Want Better or Advanced?

About: Chris Murray is founder and Managing Director of Varda Kreuz Training, a company created to deliver sales training that really works – not in theory and not just sometimes, but sales training that really works. You can find out more about Varda Kreuz Training HERE or give us a call right now on 0844 923 9777 (UK)

His latest book, The Extremely Successful Salesman’s Club has been heralded as the Da Vinci Code for salespeople.