A buyer just left my small retail business with a high end product for $1,199.
I'm the third store she telephones today. All of us are in the same area. All of us sell at least one of the same brand on our floor. Both of my competitores have substantially lower prices than I do.
Thus, the mystery is, why did the lady buy from me? Was it my hypnotic technique? My fantastic character? No.
The first store owner she telephoned closes at Noon on Saturdays. He does the exact same thing on Thursdays, & is closed on Wednesday. He Plays golf. Had he been there when she called he would have had a $1,000 sale. It would have been the single most profitable sale he's ever had. He would have made enough to ...well, take off a further day to play golf.
The second vendor she called did what many retail sellers do. She requested the price over the phone & he refused to give it to her. Instead, he utilized the time honored "technique" of telling her that "he can't give her a price over the phone but will beat any price she comes in with". I can hear a a small number of of you now saying to yourselves "Yeah Baby, That's what I do. I'm not going to give a price over the phone. They want a price, they have to come in so I can SELL them".
To get to the end...She called me last. I told her a price for three different product models. She came in & gave me the money.
Think about this. My competitor could have told her his price (I'm sure it was less than mine, by hundreds) & had the sale. I speculate how many times this has happened beforehand?
When a consumer calls you for a price, what is the best thing you can tell them? After decades of testing, investigation, & trial & error I have come to this conclusion.
That the best thing to tell them is.......um... the price.
Ask yourself this question; If you telephoned a store & they would not give you a price over the telephone would you be cheerful? Would you say to yourself, "This guy knows his STUFF! I can't wait to drive to his small retail business so I can be privy to his earth shaking price. His price is soooo good, he can't even tell anybody. Wow, allow me get my coat!"?
The only place that will happen is in your daydreams.
Has a buyer ever come into your retail store and said "Boy, am I thankful you would not tell me that price over the telephone. Driving here is SOO much more expedient"?
Have you ever telephoned a retail retail store anyplace, at just about any time, in any industry, & have them decline to offer you a price on a specific product? If they refused, did you STILL go there?
Does refusing to provide a price over the phone develop your production? Does it create assurance in the consumers mind? Would it cause a customer to refer others to you? Absolutely not
What does refusing to present a price over the telephone do? It makes us feel like we're in control. It makes for a good tale to tell our partners. "Man, that jerk will HAVE to come in if they want ME to give them a price!"
What do the better dealers do? The ones who are developing, do?
They tell the price, after that they ask a handful of questions, offer any information they can over the telephone & invite the customer into the small retail business. Will that work pretty much every time? Nope. But refusing to furnish a price over the telephone almost never works.
I know, I know. You have a tale about a time it did the trick. Why do you recollect it? Because it works so infrequently.
"But WAIT! we provide the customer a fantastic reason they can't get a price over the phone." No, you don't. The patron isn't interested in your story. The customers want the price. And surprisingly enough, they will telephone the next retail business, to get a price rather than drive to go to see you.
The "refusing to give a price over the phone" crowd does it for one reason That's the manner they were trained. This is not revealed through experience.
You'll really never read this in a sales book. It is passed on, generation after generation, as a "method". It is a technique. It has a name. It's called a Starter technique.
I know this article has an edge to it. But the advantage to you, of giving a price over the phone, is so notable I didn't want to be diplomatic regarding this.
Author Resource:
Sales trainer and advertising expert Claude Whitacre is the author of The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can obtain a free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com You can just buy the paperback at http://www.claudewhitacre.com
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