Most of us don’t like to sell. The fear of a prospect saying no is too great and many of us hate rejection. The most common objection people have is “they can’t afford you/it/product/service”. But what are they really saying to you? If there were subtitles (ala Woody Allen in Annie Hall) on the conversation, what they are really saying is “I would rather spend my money on something else.”
What you then need to find out is why they want to spend their money on something else. Does it give them more pain? Does it provide a greater need? You can’t fear rejection. Rejection gets the conversation started in talking about money and other issues that effect the sale.
I have also found people use the “afford” excuse when they are in fear of making a decision.
When I hear this, I try to take it a level deeper, and in many cases they can afford me – we may need to restructure the deal in phases, but in the end they see a commitment on my part to help them.
mp/m
After decades of doing it the hard way, I now handle this situation a couple of ways:
1. I agree with them and leave ASAP.
I have learned unproductive prospects (and people in general) usually give me some sign or tell me right at the beginning.
In the past, I just didn’t listen. I no longer talk anyone into anything. I really can’t anyway.
A young sales guy expressed it well. He said he learned he always regretted a hard sell and had to usually go through a “recovery” experience afterwards. For those of you not familiar with the lingo of addiction that’s a phrase from 12 step programs for addictions. For me, hard-selling is kind of like an addiction but that’s a whole other subject.
2. I have seen this work with my client’s where I advise them to immediately double the price they were proposing. There are psychological and business reasons why this actually works sometimes.
Overall, I think it’s misleading to think I have anything to do with this kind of attitude and position. They don’t know me, or care to get to know about what I offer. They’re coming from some place I’ll never learn about so…on to the next one.