Gettin' More Bang For Your Buck

So, you’ve hit the ground running and got some strong leads. There have been several conference calls, lunch meetings, and dinners. Business is moving in a positive direction. Now, you are ready to close the deal and all is going great, and then “BOOM”, your prospect tells you that they have a better offer from a competitor. Okay, this just got interesting. The prospect wants you to lower your price in order to move forward. What do you do?

First, don’t panic! This is a very difficult situation that many businesses find themselves. Price wars are no fun and generally present an offense vs. defense disposition. Everybody is always looking for the best deal or the lowest price, but what are you willing to give up to beat the price?

In fact, the bottom line is it’s not always about the price. Sure, it’s great to keep extra money in your pocket, but you should also consider what you are getting. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “you get what you pay for” and very often this is true. Let’s talk shop!

Cashing In

When negotiating with tough customers, keep this in mind. You should never sacrifice quality or value. Your reputation is on the line and this is the best game changer. If you have a great track record with providing customers with a quality product and superior customer service, you are already “winning”; Cashing in on both exceptional value, along with competitive pricing, gets your customers more bang for their buck.

Closing Out

This is not an easy proposition to handle. Unfortunately, for many start ups and small businesses, this is a very challenging situation. The constant “haggling” back and forth and the need to not “lose a customer” can be very stressful. Especially when you are getting your business off the ground or rebranding an existing company, it can seem like you don’t have any options. You have the power to change the game. Stick to your guns and be very confident in what you bring to the table. A customer who sees the long term potential will respect your position.

All businesses must define and establish its own identity. This means that when faced in a price war, you must set the standard of how you will run your business. If a prospect or customer doesn’t support your company values or business model, you should also know when it’s time to walk away from a deal.

It would be great to be all things to everyone, but at the end of the day, you simply can’t. You must decide what type of prospect you want to do business with and identify what is the best solution to grow your company. The focus should be on building relationships with customers who are committed to a longtime partnership, not with those whom are only interested in quick fixes.

Quick fixes can be costly down the road, so the objective should always be an investment towards long-term growth and future sustainability. When your prospects appreciate the value of what you have to offer, you can effectively convert them into paying customers. However, if they are only interested in the “lowest price”, it’s time to make a clean break and close out.

(Written by JUANITA Johnson. All content have published copyrights)*