Sales Secret #3
Never Give Price Lists!
Price lists are for customers so is sales literature!
Not for prospects!
When sitting down for a formal presentation it is reasonable and expected to use both sales literature and price lists. If the presentation does not end in a sale then leaving the pricing and product details with the customers is reasonable.
Most use of price lists and sales literature, however, is stupid and wasteful.
Pricing and product information should be used very carefully. Customers often ask for pricing and product information as a polite tool – a way of telling you to get lost – but the salesperson doesn’t get the hint! Too many salespeople use the request for pricing and sales information as a glimmer of hope that somebody might buy.
The result is salespeople thinking they have moved forward when they have lost!
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Rather Watch Than Read?
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Trade shows – at a trade show it is standard for salespeople to hand out hundreds of pieces of literature most of which ends up left in trash bins.
Never hand out literature to prospects at trade shows.
Chances are the expensive literature will be wasted or thrown away and the price lists will land in the hands of your competitors.
At trade shows speak to customers, present your products, discuss pricing but instead of handing out literature use this strategy instead.
When an interested prospect asks for literature tell them it is your procedure to send packages out after the show. Tell them that this saves attendees the trouble of carrying heavy loads of literature. Ask for the prospects business card and promise to send the literature and pricing directly to their office. Arrange to send out professional packages within a few days and then follow-up with telephone calls.
This will insure opportunities are not lost, expensive literature is not wasted and that no information is provided without getting the prospect’s full contact information.
This keeps the salesperson in control.
Telephone Sales Calls – It is common for prospects to ask for product and pricing information during telephone pitches. Most of the time this is used by the prospect to get off of the telephone.
Don’t do it!
At least don’t provide literature without getting some sort of commitment from the client but it is best to avoid sending out literature at all.
Better to respond with, ‘Certainly, I could send you some information but I am well versed on the product features and would be happy to check and questions you might have now.’ Asking a few questions will decide whether the prospect has serious and reasonable concerns or just trying to get off the telephone. Use the answers to decide authenticity and act so.
Literature and pricing are powerful tools – don’t waste them! More importantly assess client requests to understand if the request will move things forward or sideways.