This is one of the conundrums of selling. Salespeople fear that all customers want is to obtain the lowest price or else… or else the customer will proceed to buy from someone else.
Several months ago I wrote about a pre-emptive approach to selling one’s value, as well as justifying one’s price. http://www.alighaemi.com/wp/?p=747
It might bear repeating the lowest price is not always the winning bid. In fact, more often than not the lowest price is not the winner. Product price point is a little like setting employee salaries. So long as the employee believes his or her salary is fair, and so long as it is near industry average and provides a level of comfort the amount goes away as a deciding factor and factors like relationship with one’s manager and co-workers, growth, learning and respect become job satisfaction criteria. In the same way, as long customers feel that they are not being taken ‘for a ride’ and have received fair value the selling conversation will shift from price to criteria like needs’ satisfaction, reliability, after-sales support, prestige, name brand and more.
There is always someone or something that is less expensive in one’s category. Yet, the cheapest steakhouse is not always the most popular. There are plenty of diners that serve steak, but they are nowhere near as popular as the more expensive steakhouses. Does Prada sell more hand bags or ‘Joe?’ A Chevy will transport one from point A to point B. Yet, people still buy and drives Acuras, Lexuses and even Porsches. Indeed, the most expensive mobile smartphone is the most popular, Apple’s iPhone.
Salespersons need to remove the pricing-only mindset from their heads. Sell the value of the product or service and become comfortable that a less expensive alternative exists, and will always exist, and yet there is a market for other (more expensive) options – ones you might be representing.