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salePeople have been posing this situation for years and here is my perspective:  Lowering your price and expecting to close more sales is a strategy you should use only under extreme circumstances.

Below are questions that will get you thinking about whether it is right for you:

1. Am I taking a discount to match a competitor’s price?  What leads me to believe the competitor with a lower price will not simply lower their price even more?

2. If this is a new customer, how do I expect to ever get the price up to the full amount if I’ve now sold it to them at a discount?

3. If this is an existing customer and I offer a discount, will they think I’ve been overcharging them up to now? If so, will that damage our level of trust?

4. Is the customer who is asking for a lower price simply one who will buy from anyone as long as they’re the cheapest?

5. Is the customer I’m going to give a discount to been one who has been difficult to sell to up to now?  If so, then what makes me believe they’re not always going to be a high-maintenance customer?

6. How will other customers respond when they find out this customer received a lower price?  Will I wind up having to give a discount to a number of customers?

7. Why is the customer asking for a lower price?  What did I not do properly in the sales process to get them to understand the benefits and outcomes of what I’m selling?

8. How do I know the customer won’t buy from me even if I refuse to give them a discount?

Taking a discount to close a sale is anything but a quick decision.  The questions above are designed to do one thing — get you to slow down and think carefully before even entertaining the idea of offering a price reduction.

Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.

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