B2B Sales vs Retail Sales

Over 1 million people have viewed this video to date and it is a shame 1 billion people have not. I have always found it interesting that retail businesses have had the ability to establish price and for the most part that price is non-negotiable.

Why is it that in B2B sales everything appears to have some level of negotiation? However, in our roles as consumers for items such as office supplies, food, gasoline and a host of other items; we seldom think twice about paying the listed price.

It is amazing to me how many sales people ask the question “Where do I need to be to make this deal happen?” That is just setting up a price war, and no one wins at price wars. This only perpetuates the situation and conditions our buyers to thinking price is negotiable.

Learning to present price and negotiate can go a long way in reducing the amount of push back you receive when it comes to price. Always remember that when you lower your price without getting something in return, you are not gaining business, you are losing profit margin.

Making a Lasting Impression

We recently held an executive management program that included fifteen managers from eight different companies. As part of a special promotion, the program included lodging at a first-class hotel here in Greensboro. Were there other options? Of course there were….and probably more economical.

However, the response was phenomenal. Every manager commented on his or her positive experience with the hotel and was more than pleased with the service they received.

This is real life proof that creating a positive experience will provide a lasting impression. Whenever these managers think of The Brooks Group they will not only remember the material they learned, but they will remember the experience they had with us.

Regardless if these managers choose to do business with us or not, we have created a positive experience that they will remember and pass on to other people.

The lesson learned……pay attention to the details. They can work for you; but they can also work against you.

Think about your interaction with prospects and customers and imagine what it would feel like to be on their side. What kind of things would make a lasting impression on you?

Submitted by:

Can You Spot the Major Selling Lesson in This Image? – Part 2

Thank you to the people who responded to the question above. All great insights. Congratulations to the winner, Rick Thomas! We will be sending you a copy of “How To Sell At Margins Higher Than Your Competitors,” by Bill Brooks & Larry Steinmetz.

The image above is a very simple representation of the timeless sales truth that buyers – when they are able to see the true value of a product or service to themselves or their organization – will pay full price or fee (within reason, of course). And if they don’t have the budget, it’s been my experience that they will work as hard as they need to in order to find the money.

As simple as the image above is, I think it serves as a fun reminder that the more value sales professionals create in the mind of their prospects or customers, the less the chance of price becoming an issue will be.

One of the comments below by CL Meyer comes directly from a concept we teach in our High IMPACT Selling® Sales Training courses: The Value Formula.

The Value Formula simply states:

Value is created when the perceived benefits outweigh the perceived price or emotional cost of committing to your product or service.

The key for you and your sales team is always to remember this: the value we believe our products or services bring is meaningless within the sales interaction. Until we can uncover the needs (and more importantly the wants) of the buyer, we simply cannot build the value that is so essential to avoiding price objections. Always remember this: in the absence of value, all sales interactions will degenerate into an issue of price. Good selling!

Submitted by:

Can You Spot the Major Selling Lesson in This Image?

What sales strategy do you see?

Post comments explaining how this image represents value. (Use "Leave a Reply" box to post a comment.)

The person with the best comment by Thursday, August 20th wins a copy of the popular book “How To Sell At Margins Higher Than Your Competitors,” by Bill Brooks & Larry Steinmetz.

Submitted by: