Selling Price is Easy

All too often today, salespeople are selling their incentives, not homes. While everyone would agree that its a problem sales managers are working to overcome, I believe the guilty salesperson needs to remind him or herself of what it means to be a salesperson.

First and foremost, selling price is EASY. Many salespeople resort to price and incentive selling because it makes their job easier. In times past, a price concession or incentive would make a buyer say "yes". Today, buyers have come to expect a huge incentive. At times, incentives have no impact at all, so they ask for more.

Let's think of a good example of where price, almost alone, drives sales - Wal-Mart. Shoppers go to Wal-Mart for price. They don't go to Wal-Mart for quality furniture of first class electronics advice. They go there for the best price. Wal-Mart sells billions of dollars of merchandise WITHOUT SALESPEOPLE. They can do all this without salespeople because they're selling price.

When you're nearly giving a product away (super-slim margins), salespeople are not necessary. At a give-a-way price, there is enough obvious value to the consumer to make the decision without the assistance of a salesperson. Salespeople who give away the entire margin to make a sale are not salespeople - they're buyers' agents.

A salesperson has a tremendous advantage over a price tag. A salesperson can ask questions. A salesperson can get to know the consumer - learn about their needs, experience, wants, abilities, etc. Once equipped with these details, a good salesperson can demonstrate their product in such a manner that displays how it can meet the needs of, and solve problems for, the consumer - in ways that were not previously apparent to them. A salesperson's job is to share the important considerations that cannot fit on a price tag.

These new benefits that become visible to the consumer after a professional demonstration do not make price irrelevant, but done properly, they do justify your price and the value of your product. The rest is standard negotiation.

If you've arrived at the close, and the buyer wants to negotiate beyond your incentives, consider what you still need to do in order to build the value in the minds of the buyer. Unless the buyers are completely irrational (I know they're out there), there was a missed opportunity somewhere in your presentation or discovery.

Dennis O'Neil leads ONeil Interactive LLC, an online marketing strategy company for the new home industry. Dennis specializes in targeted and measurable marketing using experience in both the technical fields and new home sales and marketing. You can learn more by visiting Dennis' profile.