Rolling the dice on price: Sales process strategies that work

By Andy Ebon, “Wedding Marketing Expert”

Today, major complaints of wedding industry business people, about the selling process, is not much different from 35 years ago.

The short list

• I can’t seem to get these people on the phone.
• They either have no budget or a dollar amount, based on nothing.
• It seems the greatest weight of their decision is price-based. Nothing else.

Why people don’t call

The reasons have changed, but the problem is still the same. Short of a face-to-face appointment, the sales process works more effectively, in a real-time conversation, than an email ping-pong match.

It was, and still is true that many prospects adverse to ‘being sold’. If they are insecure about their knowledge on any given option, they will tend to create a buffer, so as to feel less intimidated, or safe.

Understanding ‘conversation strategy in email’ is a full-blown seminar, but suffice it to say, today’s bride is most comfortable in text and emailing. She views that as a conversation. It is up to you to learn how communicate with her, in her comfort zone, not yours… ultimately, turning the exchange into a phone appointment, Skype chat, or a face-to-face meeting.

The Fantasy of the Word ‘Budget’

In your experience, when a bride uses he word budget, she means…

• A quantitative expression of a plan for a defined period of time.
• A number on a dart board, hit by a dart… usually blindfolded.
• What her sister paid for a specific product or service, in a different state, at least five years ago.
• What an average bride pays for a specific product or service, in a different location, climate, day of week, month of year.
• Information, contained in an article, written by an unmarried freelance writer, citing boilerplate statistics.

Moving the Decision
Away from Money

When a prospect asks “How much does blah, blah, blah cost?”, it used to mean they were calling from a Yellow Page Ad. Now, they might be calling from an internet directory, or if you’re lucky, a referral list or your website.

It’s a question that comes from ignorance, but if you are immediately insulted, you’re missing the point.

Usually, they are asking about price because they don’t know what else to ask.

If a prospects says, “I only have $750, will you do blah, blah, blah for that?”, it usually signals the ‘this is all that I have left situation.’ It may also show they know that their available funds are probably not enough to pay for a credible service, so they figure they’ll ask you to confirm to their price. Or… it’s a negotiating ploy.

Some Discussion Strategies

• Try not to sound annoyed or insulted. You should be versed in many forms of the ‘price question’, by now, and have a variety of responses, at the ready.
• Don’t get into a tug of war, between your company in their checkbook. Talk more generally about companies in your niche, the variety of services available, levels of quality, and range of prices.
• Explain, as softly, as possible that you are not offering a commodity or selling time. Steak can cost $4 a pound or $14 a pound. They are both steak, but one is more likely to taste and cut like shoe leather. A photographer or videographer may contract by ‘time of coverage at the event’; however, there are many more hours of service, prior to, and after the wedding. Suddenly the price per hour takes a huge dip. Expand the thinking into your area of expertise.
• Avoid talking about the difference between your price and a competitor’s price. A $250 difference between $500 and $750 says you are 50% more. Yet, if a prospect elects to spend $250 less, it may cause a critical failure in their wedding. Instead, put the $250 price difference in the context of the entire wedding… say $25,000. Suddenly, you’re talking about only a 1% difference.

When pressed to price match, I often said something such as this.

“I realize that there are other companies that charge less than we do… (pause); there are also companies that charge more. Ultimately, at the end of the reception, none of us wear a price tag around our neck. The people you’ve chosen for your wedding day either do a good job and you’re happy… or they don’t, and you’re not. Either way, there’s no do-over.

I understand that you are looking at other companies. I encourage you to choose a company not because they charge less, or even if they charge more, but if you have the confidence they will provide a far superior and reliable result. (I would recount some of our best sales points, as they relate to this client).”

Listen for little agreements, and then use a closing question to ask for the order.

One of the best techniques I ever learned for empathizing and guiding, in sales, is the FEEL, FELT, FOUND framework. I learned it from Sales Trainer, Tom Hopkins. If you don’t already know it, learn it, and use it. Learn to use it in multiple ways, so you don’t sound like a parrot.

There is no money on the table for sales parrots.