Getting Price Shoppers to Buy!

One of the challenges in working with consumer electronics is the price shopper! They have recognised what you sell is a commodity and so they just want you to give them a price. They have been on the internet and checked out the prices, they have been down the road and knocked on your competitors door and know it all! They just want a price.

Does this sound familiar? I am sure it does.

The question is how do you respond to this?

Most retailers just give the ship away. They immediately just “drop their pants” and go down to the most common level which is price. It is easy to compete on price. In fact why do you even need a sales person if that is what you are going to do! You might as well just put a bank of machines in the store where the customer enters a price and it automatically responds with a price that is lower!

Yes, I am being smart, but the reality is if your total focus is on price you are on a natural road to disaster as margins are squeezed to a point that even with manufacturer rebates gone, so are you!

So one thing is critical is that you train your sales people to handle price shoppers so that they stop and buy with you! But not only do they buy the product that they came in for but you use the opportunity to sell another at the same time also.

So how do you do that?

By asking questions!

In my eCourse “The Secrets of Selling Warranty” I teach a couple of techniques for deflecting price questions. One is by asking “Is price your only concern?”

Sadly, most sales people don’t ask this! They think it is too contrived. In fact what am I getting them to do? I am giving them a simple way or system if you like for getting them to understand what is important to the customer!

Customers only buy for their reasons! Not yours!

You can give them all the features and benefits under the sun! But if you are not talking in their language and thought patterns they won’t buy.

So you must train your staff to have a questioning system in place that gets to know your customer. What is important to them? What is their situation? How, why, where or what are the using the product for? Don’t assume you know. Ask lots of questions.

Have they shopped with you before?

Are they responding to a promotion?

Have they been looking for long?

Where have they been looking?

Have they used the product before?

What happened to the last one?

What didn’t you like about your last one?

What did you like about it?

When would you like to take delivery of it? (Timing can be very important)

Would you be able to install it?

How long do you want to keep it? (Good warranty intro)

What other brands have you been looking at?

The questions are limitless! The value and information they bring you the sales person are invaluable.

By asking questions you will get to know what the customers concerns are. What are their fears, frustrations, wants and needs? You will also get to know how valuable this customer is to you now and in the future.

Armed with all this information you can then position/ package the sale of your product or service so that price is not the main decision criteria.

Focus on delivering value in the customer’s terms and you will win every time!