How to Sell to Price Focused Shoppers

December 31st, 2009
by Janna Hoiberg, ActionCOACH Colorado Springs

The most common complaint in selling is: we can’t compete with the big guys on price.”

The perception in the market place is that people are shopping on price alone. The only reason your customer asks the price up front is because that is what we as business owners have trained them to do.

How many times have you call or gone into a business not really knowing what model, style, color or features you were looking for and purely asked for the price? At this point did the sales person come back with “that is $29.95″ or did they ask you some questions about what you were looking to use the product/service for? In this instance let’s say it is a coffee pot.

Now in most people’s eyes a coffee pot is a coffee pot; but, they have many different features and offer many different benefits. So what if the sales person simply said to you when you inquired about price, “just so I can help you best is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about the coffee pot you are looking for.

The sales person could then ask questions like; are you looking to replace an existing coffee pot or is it a gift for someone? Do you regularly use your coffee pot or is it rarely used? Would you like a coffee pot with a quick boiling time? Are you looking for something to match your kitchen? So what color are you looking for? Coffee Pots come in different cup capacity; do you require 10 cup capacity or is 5 a better size for you?

From these questions the customer gets the idea that the sales person is genuinely interested in their needs and the salesperson is able to offer options in the most suitable coffee pots for their needs. The price is therefore negated. It is just a matter of now asking the customer to buy.

A good salesperson would then ask, “well based on what we have just spoken about there are two options to choose from, model x and model y, which one suits you best? Be definite with the infinite. If the customer is in your business the sales person then simply takes them to the point of sale terminal and transacts the sale.

This example was based on a coffee pot, a relatively small dollar item. How does this apply to your business? This process works equally well on cars, houses, furniture, service based businesses and any other product I can think of, including funeral homes. You just need to work out what your customers are actually looking for when they ask for the price, and what’s most important to them in their buying decision!

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If it is going to be done RIGHT, I have to do IT!

November 9th, 2009

by Janna Hoiberg, ActionCOACH Colorado Springs

Do you ever find yourself making that statement? Do you struggle with your staff delivering inconsistent service quality or handling customers with your level of professionalism? Do they sell your products or services as well as you?  For many business owners, the answer is NO!  So what is the solution?

The default solution for too many entrepreneurs is to work lots of hours and do it yourself.  If this sounds like you, how is this “solution” affecting your lifestyle, time with those you love, and your amount of recreation? There is a way out! Put systems in place so others can do the tasks the same way you would, or possibly even better.

Systems are your way of empowering your team to perform the work on a level as if you were doing it personally. View the word SYSTEM as an acronym for: Saving You Stress, Time, Energy, & Money! Systems reduce your hours and stress by empowering average people to do great work. Systems also ensure that customers receive the consistency they expect – each and every time. Sound too good to be true? Ask yourself: “How do other businesses grow beyond the owner?” – by creating systems to run the company, freeing the owner for strategic growth initiatives. Below are some simple guidelines for creating systems that work.

Keep them simple
If the system or documented process is complex, then keep working to distill the activity down to its critical essence. When you thoroughly understand something, and present it well, it will become simple for someone else to replicate. When is it truly simple? - when someone else, unfamiliar with the task, can complete it using only what you have documented in the system.

Write only systems that make money or reduce risk
You are not in the business of creating manuals, so only create a system if it simplifies a task, improves quality, or speeds up a service. This will keep you focused. Start small and grow the system(s) with time.

Assure the systems you develop are used
Have you heard of the proverb: “What gets measured or monitored gets done”? As you create systems or document processes, include a monitoring or measuring protocol to insure the systems are used.  It doesn’t do any good to write systems and put them on a shelf and never use them.  They should always be part of the business and continue to be improved as your business changes.

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