How to sell the higher priced service and why it’s not really the higher price.
Bargain hunters … I’m not sure whether we should love them or loathe them but if you’re in business you’re certainly going to have to deal with them. They’re out there in just about every vertical and these days there seems to be more of them than ever.
They’re always looking for the cheapest price and they’re always either asking; “Is that your best price?” or “I saw that cheaper in the store round the corner.”
Sadly you’re never going to convince some of these people that price is not always the one factor you base every single decision on. There are many other factors that can be far more important than price alone and it’s these factors that can be your defense against all but the most rabid bargain hunters.
Some of the other factors you can suggest a bargain hunter considers include such things as after sales service; the availability of replacement parts; reliability and the very basic fact that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. And perhaps, if you explain it clearly, it’s that last point that may swing the sale in your favor.
Of course, customers can buy cheap products but they should also consider the total cost of the purchase and that cost goes well beyond the point at which the sale is made. Perhaps they can buy a cheap imported widget for ten bucks as opposed to the quality, locally made widget that you sell for $15.00
But what happens when the cheap widget vaporizes after six months while the expensive widget is still working perfectly two years after it was bought? The client pays $15.00 and two years down the track still has a working widget or takes the “cheap” option and has to replace it every six months. After two years the bargain hunter has spend $40.00 on widgets while the person who was prepared to pay more initially has still only spent $15.00.
Only the most rabid bargain hunter will fail to see the logic in that argument so try it next time you have a bargain hunter come into your store and want to tell you that you’re too expensive. Maybe he or she will that the true bargain is in the $15.00 widget after all.
