If you’ve been in the sales profession for more than a month, you’ve likely heard a prospect say: “If you can match the price, I’ll give you the business.”
You could be a travel agent and the customer wants you to match Expedia or Travelocity’s price. You could be a distributor and the customer wants you to match a competitor’s price. You could be anybody selling anything and at some point, you’re going to hear: “If you can match the price, I’ve give you the business.”
It doesn’t matter what you’re selling, you need to stop matching the price!
Good news! You are about to learn a simple, sure-fire approach to avoid matching the price and still win the business.
If a prospect says to you: “match the price and I’ll give you the business,” there are two specific steps you should walk the prospect through.
1) Create a buyer or liar scenario. I’ve never cared for that label because it sounds so non-win/win; but, you should present your prospect with an If / Then proposition. Which, in essence, puts you in a situation whereby the prospect either makes the purchase or proves him or herself to be a liar – because if they don’t buy, they have not kept to their word.
It’s simple: “Mr. Prospect, if I match their price, you’ll buy from me?” As simple as that, once they say yes, psychologically speaking, they have affirmed their commitment to making the purchase from you… at this point it is only a matter of price.
The next step is how you avoid actually having to match the price.
2) “Why?” Once the customer agrees to buy from you if you match the competitor’s price, simply ask them why they would do that. Oh, and be sure to shut up. Don’t even breathe. Let them talk until they’ve said all they have to say about why they would give you the business if you simply match the price.
Better yet, write down what they say. Each comment the customer says is a bullet for your (sales) gun. In the travel agent world, the customer may reply: “Well, I’d rather buy from you because I know you, because your local, because I hate Travelocity, because you worked hard to provide me good information and recommendations, because if I have a problem I know that you will be there for me, whereas Travelocity won’t even answer the phone,” etc.
It doesn’t matter what you’re selling or which industry you work; heck, it doesn’t even matter what the prospect says. The gems they spurt out are the exact reason why you can’t and won’t match the price.
“Mr. Prospect, those are exactly the reasons why I can’t match the price. Recite their comments directly back to them. Each bullet is valuable to the customer. So build the value out and help the customer see the premium in doing business with you. The customer will recognize the added costs in your business model, as well as the added value they cherish.
Chances are, they’ll be willing to give you the business without you having to match the competitor’s price. Granted, you may still have to flex but forget scorched-earth pricing levels. Build value into your offering and achieve a fair price for your goods and services.
“Match the price and I’ll give you the business?” Why? The answers are what makes the difference between you and your competitor.
