The door slammed harder than normal which usually meant one of two things. She was mad about something that happened at work today, or she was excited about something that happened. Either way, I was about to find out.
“I can’t believe what a great deal I got today at lunch,” she proudly blurted out before I could get a chance to greet her in our traditional way. A smile was ear to ear on her face as she looked to me to join in on the excitement.
Before she let me respond, the excitement continued. “I went to the mall to look for something quickly during lunch, and that watch that I have been looking at for months finally went on sale!” “Wow,” I replied in a surprised tone.
“So I bought it and I am so happy that I finally could get the watch…” she said, holding out her wrist for me to see.
“That is so awesome,” I replied as I admired it.
After dinner, I was able to overhear her on the phone with one member of her sales team, trying to console the person on the other end of the line. As I listened in, I could only get half of the conversation, but realized quickly what was transpiring.
“I know, Jim Harris always buys on price. There is not much that you can do, as we cannot compete with his current supply partner,” she said on the phone. She continued, “We just need to put this out of our mind and move forward towards the next opportunity. Sooner or later, we will get our change to work with Mr. Harris.”
That’s when it hit me. Listening to that conversation was so helpful when thinking about sales. Could it be possible that we have a double standard in sales? Is it possible that we have an expectation for ourselves that is different from our expectation of our clients? In the story above, is it fair for the woman to shop on price alone and then think that her client is unfair doing the same thing?
Think about your own buying habits. Do you love to get a deal for yourself, then complain when you lose a project because of price? I am not saying that this is bad and that you should pay as much as you can for something. I am saying that you might want to consider your buying habits and look at them as they relate to how your clients shop.
Here are some thoughts to ponder…
Price is usually not the only deciding factor.
Until someone sees the value of something, the price tends to be too high.
The more complex the product, the less they buy on price.
People usually test to see if they are getting the best deal. Be prepared for this.
I have a great list of ways to get a higher price. Please Contact Us and ask for the “ways to get a high price” and I will gladly send it to you!
In the meantime, remember, you cannot get mad at someone that does the same thing that you do!