I KNOW: it’s not fair. You’re great at romancing your jewelry. The customer likes you. Everything is going according to plan. But in order to sell your product, you are going to have to give the customer a price. And other than closing, this is the single biggest part of the sale that is blown by salespeople all across the country. How can you drop this bombshell without destroying the sale in the process? Here are five tips that can help make price a non-issue in your presentation:
• Procrastinate. Price should be the last item you discuss in your presentation. If you bring it up too soon, the customer will shut you out. But if you begin by romancing the product, its value will increase, and you will encounter fewer price objections later on. Whoever told you never to put things off certainly wasn’t in diamond sales!
• The item must be in their hand, not yours. If you are holding the product when you tell the customer the price, you are subconsciously sending the message that they can’t afford it. Furthermore, possession isn’t just nine-tenths of the law … it’s nine-tenths of the sale! When the customer holds your product, they can more easily envision themselves owning it.
Possession isn’t just nine-tenths of the law … it’s nine-tenths of the sale!
• Look them in the eye. This tells the customer they can trust you, and you have nothing to hide. It also lets them know you have confidence that your price is a good one.
• Don’t say “thousands” or “hundreds.” Read the item price as a series of digits. For example, an item priced $6,999 would be read “sixty-nine ninety-nine.” Less intimidating.
Advertisement
• Never pre-qualify. This is the biggest reason most salespeople blow sales on price. A “poverty-level mentality” regarding the customer will always cause you to undersell, and you’ll never make as much money as you could. For instance, if you apologize for the price, your customer will perceive that it is expensive. She will then be less likely to purchase the item, even if she could afford it. Sell every customer like she’s a multimillionaire. That way, even if she can’t afford the item, you’re giving her a silent compliment, and she’s more likely to buy something else from you.
“But Shane,” you ask, “What do I do if they ask for the price early in my presentation?” If that happens, you must immediately give them the price, but phrase it as a lead-in: “It’s sixty-nine ninety-nine, and let me tell you why.” This lets you continue romancing the product and building value. Never defend your price, always qualify.
If you do your sales presentation correctly, price will never be the issue that “makes or breaks” the sale. Your store will become a legend because of how you treat people. Remember: 75 percent of people shopping for jewelry buy that day, and 93 percent of all customers who say they’ll be back don’t come back. They are going to buy from the person who assumes they can buy it. Will that person be you?
