It’s true, if you MUST give a discount, you should always be asking for something in return. However, before you even think about providing a client with a discount, try and come up with an alternative solution instead. Consider the following alternatives you can offer the client before automatically handing them a price discount.
– Free shipping
– Extra manuals
– Training
– Terms
– Credit card payments
– A client profile on your website
– Access to the advisory board
What you’re able to offer your client instead of a price discount depends on your particular business, industry, client needs, and your own authority to provide an alternative. In most cases, with enough brainstorming, you will be able to come up with a mutually beneficial alternative to reducing the price for the customer.
While providing a price discount for certain (rare) scenarios or clients is often inevitable, the goal should always be to set a precedent that you don’t negotiate on prices. More importantly, you want to establish your prices in the industry as fair compensation for the products and services you offer with a high ROI for your cient.
When you provide different clients with different prices for the same products or services you lose your level of consistency and hinder the trust you have established with your customers.
You can expect at least 40% of the customers you present an alternative to will take you up on your offer. Because of this generally high level of interest, it’s your responsibility to be prepared beforehand with a list of potential alternatives for each client you pitch your service to. There’s nothing worse than losing a sale that could easily be salvageable with the right preparation. ← Click To Tweet
I know, each sales scenario and client is different and unique in their own way. Often times it’s difficult to think creatively to come up with an alternative offer for your client. If this is something you anticipate that you may struggle with, send us an e-mail at sales@engageselling.com and we’ll be happy to send you a free copy of our negotiation planning worksheet. This worksheet will provide you with ideas that you can use to come up with alternative solutions for the wide array of clients and scenarios you encounter.
Also, take a look at our Sales Accelerator Program, designed to make you a more efficient sales person and help you reach greater sales results.
Remember, your goal is to maintain the integrity of the price you’ve set for your products, while delivering exceptional value to the customer by offering services that cost you very little to implement during the process.
What is one example of a sale you have salvaged by offering an alternative solution to a price reduction?