THE ROBIN ROBINS REVEAL
HOW TO SQUASH PRICE RESISTANCE
WHY AREN ’ T YOUR PROSPECTS BUYING ?
Last month , this cry for help came in , which has been paraphrased and summarized for space : “ HELP ! I decided to start selling managed services a few months ago , but I ’ m getting a lot of pushback on price and therefore haven ’ t sold a single contract yet . I have a few irons in the fire , and a few might close , but there ' s nothing so far . I try to demonstrate the value , but it ’ s not sinking in , and I don ’ t know what to do . Can you help ?”
Provided the prospect is a buyer of what you sell ( and in the above case it sounds like they do need and want to buy some sort of IT services and support ), price resistance almost always stems from two things : skepticism and lack of trust . The prospect is thinking , “ I don ’ t know you , and I don ’ t trust that you are giving me the best possible deal . I ’ m also not confident in your ability to deliver and feel there may be someone out there who ’ s more competent and qualified . So , I ’ ll stall , question , resist , and shop around .”
So , before we can squash price resistance , we have to understand where it ’ s stemming from .
Buyers are finicky and untrusting by nature . They have a lot of options for everything they might need and often aren ’ t “ on fire ” to buy what you sell . Yes , most know you get what you pay for , but they also know that higher prices aren ’ t necessarily a guarantee of quality work . Regardless of what they pay , they have no way of knowing in advance if you will actually deliver on your promises and give them the best deal until they sign on the dotted line . Once they give you their money , they have very little recourse other than to fire you and start over , which is definitely not an easy or attractive option . So , the question isn ’ t why would someone be skeptical and shop around ; the question is why wouldn ’ t they . Don ’ t you shop around ?
That leaves the burden of proof on you , the seller . You ’ ll be far more successful and a lot less frustrated in sales if you approach every prospect assuming they will be anxious and skeptical ; in fact , you should invite that scrutiny . People who go into a sales call like a naive dummy , unprepared and without a sales process designed to build trust and calm buyers ’ fears , deserve exactly what they get : massive price resistance and no sale . So , what can we do about all of this ?
Opposite this page is a list of my 12 Pillars of Trust-Based Selling that , when implemented , will significantly lower the prospect ’ s apprehension about hiring you , regardless of price . That ’ s not to say you will never get any pushback on price ; if you are experiencing zero fee resistance , your prices are too low . However , a prospect will certainly pay more for a service if there is a firm trust that the seller is telling them the truth and giving them sound advice . What they have to pay to get a result is part of the honest truth-telling that prospects so desperately want .
Now , back to my opening story … What I left out is that this person is attempting to sell managed services for $ 10 per user per month . Ten dollars ! That ’ s so far below the national average , it ’ s laughable , yet he ’ s still getting price resistance . It proves my point that it ’ s not the fee itself giving the prospect pause , but rather the lack of trust in the seller .
12 | MSPSUCCESSMAGAZINE . COM • VOLUME 2