Selling Strategies for Customers Who “Grind” You on Price

According to Josh Gordon, the author of “Tough Calls—Selling Strategies to Win Over Your Most Difficult Customers,” traditional selling techniques work just fine for clients who are well-behaved and play fair. But his research shows that on average, one out of every six clients is a problem client.

Here are Mr. Gordon’s strategies for dealing with a particular species of problem client, the “Price Grinder,” who will relentlessly try to get you to lower your price (adapted from “Tough Calls—Selling Strategies to Win Over Your Most Difficult Customers,” AMACOM Books, 1997):

1. When you are asked for a price concession, ask for something in return. This is the quickest way to separate the serious rate negotiator from the “it doesn’t hurt to ask” negotiator. Tell him he can have his price but he must give you more business (or something else you want).

2. Remember, every Price Grinder has a boss. Often, when a client really grinds you on price, it’s to make himself look good in front of his boss. Give the client you are calling on reasons to present to his boss to help justify the price.

3. Keep it personal. It is much easier to gouge or make crazy price demands of someone you don’t know very well. If you have had dinner with the client, chances are you will be treated, at the very least, fairly.

4. Find out what your client really wants. He may just want to win or gain ego gratification. Or, he may need to be sold further on the value of your product.

5. Sell value. Instead of listening to the Price Grinder justify why your product isn’t worth its price, you have to sell him on why it is.

6. Differentiate your product from that of your competitors. If your client can’t see the difference between the products you are competing with, he’ll just buy the cheapest one.

7. Never negotiate a major contract with a Price Grinder over the phone. Telephone negotiations favor the buyer’s side: it’s easier for the customer to say “no” on the phone than to your face; you can’t read body language over the phone; it’s easy for the customer to simply hang up.

8. If you are being pushed into a corner, stall. Claim that you have no authority to grant concessions like these—even if you do. Go back to the office and talk to your manager about the next step.

9. Do not give in to every price demand. Yes, you’re trying to do everything possible to ensure your client’s satisfaction, but for the Price Grinder, price negotiation is a sport, and your giving in may not bring any long-term satisfaction.

10. Make a deal personally difficult to get. If getting a price concession involves extra difficulty for the individual, he will often stop demanding one.

11. Use him to find out what your competition is doing. The Price Grinder will stick the details of your competition in your face. Take notes, but remember also to take price information with a grain of salt.

12. Ask about how his company views deals with its own customers who Price Grind on them. Everyone loves a bargain, but this argument does work for some.

13. Take a step back for a reality check. In spite of how much a Price Grinder may yell and scream about price, he will not buy because of price alone. Clients don’t buy products on price; they buy products on value. Often, more time is spent discussing the least important item of all, the price.

For more information about “Tough Calls” and AMACOM’s extensive library of business titles, click here.

And, consider the following AMA Seminars:

• Strategic Sales Negotiations #5535
• Selling to Major Accounts—A Strategic Approach #5235

Click here for more information.