26 MARCH 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Selling by Price Alone by Tim Connor If you are selling by price alone, beware! Prospects and customers want several things from their suppliers - fair price, quality products and services, and timely service (and these are not in the order of their preference). Over the years, surveys of consumers have shown most consumers want timely and responsive service first, quality products and services second, and low price third. Over many decades, I have surveyed my sales audiences - just quick questions asked of thousands of salespeople over the years. I asked what they believe - of the three items mentioned above - is the most important to consumers. The results of this question have been almost 100% consistent - low price first, quality second, and service last. During the same period, I asked my general audiences the same question. Again, the answer has been almost 100% the same - service first, quality second, and price last. We seem to have a difference in perception here, between what consumers say they want and what salespeople think they want. There are three elements which must be understood by salespeople if they are going to effectively deal with the price issue. First, there is price. This is what people pay for what they buy. Second, there is cost. This is what they pay for what they buy, over time. Or what it costs them to do it late, wrong, or not at all. Then there is perceived value. This is what they really want for the money they pay. Most consumers tell salespeople what they want is low price - when what they really want is low cost. Now I know many of you might take issue with this statement given your experience, mindsets, or the relentless and never-ending push by customers for low price only, but I ask you to consider for a moment what you as a consumer want. Do you want the cheapest, or that which solves your problem or answers your need or desire? Most prospects or customers want their problem solved. They know you get what you pay for, and that the distaste of poor quality and service lasts far longer than the sweetness of low price. People object to price when they feel what you are asking them to pay is higher than their perceived value of the purchase. Most poor salespeople, when they get price resistance, lower the price. Most of the time, it is not just a price issue, but one of too low perceived value or ultimate low cost for the consumer. How do you raise perceived value? Find out what is preventing your prospect or customer from getting a good night’s sleep, and show them how your product or service will satisfy this need/want - or even better - exceed their expectations for value - and you will have a friend for life. I guarantee you, price will be secondary. Not cost, but price. The real sales pros focus on value - what the product or service does for the customer (not the price). They understand price is an issue, but not the most important one. Price will always seem high when perceived value is low. The way to change the relationship between price and perceived value in the other person’s mind is to raise perceived value. Lowering price only makes them question the integrity of the original price, as well as the lower price. However, the real problem here is not the lowered price on this transaction, but the precedent you set for all future purchases by this customer. Develop the habit of selling by lowering price and I will guarantee you this issue will rear its ugly head again and again, from now on. It should, therefore, be obvious that you never want to introduce price too soon in the sales process - until you have had the opportunity to build value in the prospect’s mind. If you have a price-only buyer (yes, there are many out there), you must decide if their business is worth it to you in the long run. I can only tell you from experience, prospects who made a big deal out of price and expected all kinds of price adjustments ultimately required a lot of other concessions as well throughout the balance of the relationship. I have discovered when I broke this rule myself, I always regretted it later. It is necessary sometimes to let the business go so they can discover for themselves the real difference between low price and high ultimate cost. Why not use their attitude about price and cost as a barometer to determine the overall quality and potential of the relationship in general? In His service, Tim Tim Connor may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com
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