How do you respond to customers who want to know your price right away?

So… quick clarification question before giving my answer…

A) Is this a call-in and the prospect says, “What’s your best price”?
B) Is this a call-in and the prospect says, “I’m calling to get some pricing information on your XYZ”?
C) Is this a cold call and the prospect soon after your Opening Value Statement (what you say after “Hello, my name is…”) asked you about price?

These are the three common areas where a prospect will inquire about price EARLY ON in a sales call and each one happens for different reasons and so each one needs to be handled differently.

So let’s start with: A) “What’s your best price”?

This is a common scenario if you sell a product or service and other companies sell the same exact thing (let’s say you are a VAR – a Value Added Reseller of a software solution, as an example). If that’s the case, the prospect is most likely SHOPPING.

When a prospect is shopping around, the person calling in is either an information gatherer who was tasked to get the best price or it’s the person that can make the decision. So the first thing you need to do is identify which role this person is playing. To do that, respond to their pricing request with this simple easygoing question:

“Mr. Prospect, I’d be happy to help you with that – quick question… Let’s assume for a moment that you really like our price – what happens next?”

If they respond with “well, I need to take it to my boss” you know you aren’t speaking to the decision-maker. Giving your best price now would be a shot in the dark at best. You’re better off letting them know what standard pricing is but that you may also have some possible incentives available however you would need to have the final decision maker involved in the call.

If they won’t get the decision-maker on the phone AND they are NOT willing to BUY NOW on the call no matter what the price, resist the urge to give them your best deal. They are only going to shop it if you do.

If it’s B) “I’m calling to get some pricing info on your XYZ”…

Listen, if you get a call-in and the prospect enquires about pricing, this in the sales world is called a BUYING SIGNAL. So count your blessings. You just got a hold of a legitimate WARM LEAD. However, this does NOT mean you get an automatic run scored. You still have to round (and touch) all of the bases.

Most salespeople are taught early on to AVOID discussing price until the end of the presentation. This is a HUGE mistake. However, discussing the price before uncovering their buying motive, purchasing authority, time frame, etc. is ALSO a HUGE mistake.

One of the easiest ways to handle this early request from a prospect is to simply say (with sincerity)

“Would it be OK to ask you a few quick questions first to make sure what we offer would be a good fit for you and your company?”

Who says “no” to that? (Actually, I did have one prospect say “no” to that once but he quickly followed it up with “I know we want to move forward, I just need to know the price so I can place the order.”)

Now let’s Address C) Soon after your Opening Value Statement they interrupted your sales pitch and just said, “How much is it”?

This happens when the salesperson fails to pique the prospect’s interest and engage the prospect in a conversation regarding a pain point / hot button issue. So if you are cold calling and early on in the sales call your prospects are interrupting you with a displeased tone and asking “How much is it?” and you want it to stop, you need to learn a new sales process because what you are saying and how you are saying it is causing your prospects to react the way they are.

Start by developing a better Opening Value Statement. Take a look at this Youtube video:

How to Create a Cold Call Opening Value Statement.