The perception in the market place is that people are shopping based on price alone. The only reason your customer asks for the price upfront, is because, that is what we, as business owners, have trained them to do.

More often than not, people go into a business not really knowing what model, style, color or features they are looking for and purely ask for the price? At this point should the salesperson come back with the direct response, “That is $29.95” or should they ask the customer some questions about what it is they are looking to use the product/service for? This can be further explained by using a simple example of a kettle.

Now in most people’s eyes a kettle is a kettle, but it can have many different features and offer many different benefits.

So what if the sales person simply tells the customer, “Just so I can help you better, is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about the kettle you are looking for?” This is a better response than simply telling the customer how much the kettle costs. Most certainly, the customer would give an affirmative response as he would like to find the kettle that best suits their needs.

The sales person may then ask questions like: “Are you looking to replace an existing kettle or is it a gift for someone?” “Do you regularly use your kettle or is it rarely used?” “Have you seen the cordless options that are available?” “Are you looking for something to match your kitchen?” “So what color are you looking for?” “Kettles come in different cup capacity; do you require 10-cup capacity or is five a better size for you?”

From these questions, the customer gets the idea that the sales person is genuinely interested in their needs, and that the salesperson is able to offer options in the most suitable kettles based on his needs.

The price, is therefore, negated. It is just a matter of now asking the customer to buy the kettle and close the sale. A good salesperson would then ask, “Well, based on what we have just spoken about, there are two options to choose from, model x and model y; which one suits you best?”

Finally, he can ask, “Great, would you like to pay for that by cash or on a credit card. This example was based on a kettle- a relatively small dollar item.

How does this apply to other businesses? This process works equally well on cars, retail, houses, furniture, service-based businesses and any other product there is, including funeral homes.

Every business owner needs to work out what his customers are actually looking for when they ask for the price, and what’s most important to them in their buying decision.