When the Customer Fixates on Price It's Probably Not About the Money Customers often talk cost when they have vague concerns about the product. Your job is to find out and solve the real problem.

By Grant Cardone Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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If the person I'm working with can afford the product, but isn't buying and continues to focus on the money, I realize this buyer has other concerns. While your customer may be objecting to price, know there is something else you might not know. He or she is thinking…

  • Is this the right product?
  • Is there a better product?
  • Is this the right proposal?
  • Will this solve our problem?
  • Will I use it?
  • What will other people think about my decision?
  • Am I going to really use and enjoy this?
  • Will this company take care of us?
  • Am I better off buying something else?
  • Will something better come out next week?
  • Do I know enough to make a decision?
  • Should we invest in something else?
  • Is this going to be a mistake?
  • Is this person going to let me down?

Related: It's Almost Never Price When the Prospect Doesn't Buy

When these other questions are handled, the price will no longer be the issue.

Let's say a man is buying a birthday present for his girlfriend. He finds something he thinks she will love. You tell him the price and he says it's more than he can afford. What he's actually saying is that he's not completely sold on that product. If it's too much for that ring, he either doesn't love it himself or is not sure she will -- or both.

You have to get the right product that solves all of his problems. Address other concerns and price won't be the big issue.

You can justify the price with other inventory. Don't make the mistake of offering something with a lower price when you get a customer making price objections. This is not a way to resolve the money problem. When you move the customer down to offer something cheaper, they are actually more likely to like the product even less than the first one. This will cause your buyer to believe you don't have a solution.

Related: How Can I Turn Price-Sensitive Shoppers Into Customers?

Instead of moving them down, try moving them up. This will get the customer thinking in terms of value, not price. This will also determine whether the price objection was even valid or not. If a guy is looking at a $6,000 ring and objects to the price, show him a $9,000 ring. The $6,000 ring may become more attractive to him.

Buyers are more concerned about making a good decision than how low the price is. What's the worst that can happen by moving someone up in inventory?

A) He will look at something more expensive, which means he wasn't committed to the original product.

B) He needs to move in the other direction, something cheaper. That makes the price objection valid.

C) He looks at the more expensive item but sees value in the original item.

Exhaust your inventory, not your price. You are losing just as many customers to more expensive products as you are losing to less expensive products. Your buyer would rather pay more and make the right decision than pay less and make a mistake!

Be great,

GC

Grant Cardone

International Sales Expert & $1.78B Real Estate Fund Manager

Grant Cardone is an internationally-renowned speaker on sales, leadership, real-estate investing, entrepreneurship and finance whose five privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $300 million.

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