I read a nice article on Raintoday.com that deals with a scenario that most consultants face at one time or another: What to Say When a Client Claims Your Price Is too High” by Charles H. Green, Contributing Editor, Raintoday.com. It’s a good read, so make sure to check out the full article.

“If you’re like most professionals, you’re not comfortable with selling. It’s not easy fighting the feeling that hyping yourself is somehow inappropriate. And it’s worse when you have to deal with objections, doing presentations, and getting rejections—or waiting for the phone to ring.

“But little can compete for sheer discombobulation with the plain old, ‘We think your prices are too high.’ What do you say to that?”

  • “Listen to your gut and ask yourself seriously, objectively, curiously, ‘What exactly do they mean when they say your prices are too high.’ And stay there for a minute. That’s because until you know what they mean, you are simply arguing with yourself. You presume to know what the client means and are answering the presumed objections you have invented.”According to Green, there’s more than one reason why customers may think this way (read the article for the details on each of these:)
    • Sticker shock
    • Budget busting
    • Bazaar bargaining
    • Sucker punched

“Here’s the key point. If you try to guess which of those scenarios is operating behind the curtain of your client’s eyes, you have maybe one chance in four of getting it right. But if you choose to guess without confirming your guess with the client, you will lose—even if you guess correctly

“Therefore, the worst thing to do is defend against the attack you are imagining in your own head. The best thing to do is exactly what you don’t want to do—ask the client simply, ‘Can you help me understand what you mean by that?’”

(Blogger’s note: I love this point. It’s key to every client interaction. Don’t guess. Ask. Communicate.)

  • “Asking the ‘help me understand’ question: explain that clients often mean widely varying things when they say the price is too high. The read off the list above.
  • “The intent behind the conversation: treat price concerns like any other objective piece of information: you explore its meaning and implications with the client until you have a share understanding.”

Read the full “What to Say When a Client Claims Your Price Is too High” article

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One Comment

  1. Lisa LaMagna August 5, 2013 at 4:19 pm - Reply

    Terrific insight Avery, yes, price is another piece of information we are exploring. Thank you.

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