Stop Selling Price

“My customers will only buy if I lower my prices.”

Really? Are you sure? I hear this frequently from participants in my training workshops, and it always leads to a healthy conversation about whether they are selling price or value. It also leads to a conversation about assumptions the salesperson might be making about what the customer is able to pay, as opposed to what they want to pay.

I started my training business in 1987. One of my first assignments was to help a VP of Sales plan her first national sales meeting. I met with her on a Friday, where she outlined the project, and asked me to give her a price on Monday. I agonized over what to charge her. Back and forth, up and down. I finally settled on a price. When we spoke that Monday, she asked me what the price was. I told her, and she said “Okay.” I knew right away I had undercharged her. I wasn’t confident enough in the value I would bring her. Instead, I was selling price. That was a very valuable lesson for me, one that I never forgot.