Sell Value, Not Price-PI Sales Academy Blog/Quiz #15
This will be an unpopular position by many I’m sure, yet a subject that must be examined. In our commodity driven society sales professionals who do a good job of selling luxury items are becoming outliers. As time moves on and more companies rely on AI instead of real people with which to service their clients we get further and further away from selling value over price.
An opinion: the closer we get to a higher or predominant percentage of humans living more virtually and less in the real world, the more we get away from valuing things of great cultural value and the closer we get to things not related to the real world being of value. The Problem that the cyber world has in replacing luxury items in the physical world is the quality of experience and totality that real world experiences give the experiencer. The touch and live tone of a fine piano cannot be replicated in a virtual world no more than “live” music can be copied to the same degree. My point? Virtual reality is a valuable selling tool especially if it is preferred by the buyer but some piano buyers will never consider a virtual decision as trustworthy as a “hands on” one. Some of us will always want a test drive, not Pianovana. I hope that wasn’t too off the wall.
Why all the real estate in this article about live presentations and demos? Because selling value over price is best done by creating an environment that provides the highest possibility of the purchaser falling in love, they demote price into their mental back seat. That is best done with all the “live” senses being appealed to, 80/20 rule invoked. Value is best established by placing the prospect in an environment that allows them to appreciate and understand the intrinsic value of a thing. In today’s ultra convenience oriented marketplace working out the proper environment can be a lot of work BUT the ability to reach more prospects to work with is also heightened by new tech’s lead generation capabilities.
Establishing value over price very often begins before the fact finding occurs during the onset of the initial encounter. Prospects will very often position price as the determining priority by making statements right out of the box such as,”I’m looking for a baby grand in the $5,000 range. Do you have any in that price range?… because I really don’t want to go over that budget.” Whether it is on the phone, via text or email many, many prospects want to protect themselves first off and set the price expectations to avoid letting the sales pros get too far into their bank account.
Is it best to address the question of price in detail when it is brought to the forefront first off by the potential buyer? Yes and no. It is rude and bad for a new relationship (actually could sink the ship) if you decide to tap dance around the question and not address it so you must acknowledge and respond to it BUT the secret is to answer it then redirect the conversation into a fact finding mode after hitting on credibility. Here is an example of an answer that responds, establishes credibility then launches into a question based fact finding:
“Well Mr. Smith I have good news for you, I believe we do indeed have some baby grands in that price range. We are the exclusive piano representative of _______________ (name of the brand or brands) and also make available some carefully inspected used pianos. I would love to help you find a piano in that price range, in an effort to do so may I have permission to ask a few brief questions that will allow me to introduce you to the best instruments to consider?
The success of “question based selling” is to get the prospect talking and explaining their wants and needs. This is not the time to take the stage and do all the talking in an effort to impress them. They will be more endeared and deepen the relationship with you most easily if you act like you care and respond in such a way that proves it. Remember the old saying,”God gave you two ears and one mouth so use them proportionately?” This is good advice. By asking questions you will uncover opportunities to sell value over price. One great question to ask after many of the statements a prospect makes is,”that is an interesting choice, how did you come to that preference?” This effectively gets them to continue opening up and gives you more ammo with which to make recommendations which may or may not be in line with their original thinking.
After getting a clear picture of who will be playing and why through all those critical discovery questions and answers you are in a position to do what all the greatest piano sales professionals have done and “top down” sell. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing some of the best ever piano sales pros do it and I can’t find one reason why top down selling isn’t the way to go in most every situation though there are those circumstances that don’t merit it. 80/20 rule invoked, it is almost always beneficial in selling value over price to sit a buyer down at one of the very best, if not the best, piano you have on the showroom floor.
One sincere reason to have a “live” in person prospect play the best you have is so they can have an accurate gauge on what they are looking for in their price range. Getting as close to the touch and tone of the best piano in their category is a great way to get them to focus on the quality and not solely the price.
Another benefit, believe it or not, that does occur, is that sometimes the player/buyer falls in love and can’t fall back out of love and settle for a lesser quality instrument. I’ve seen and heard about many instances where price really takes a back seat when the buyer falls in love. Most people still buy on emotion and back it up with logic when it comes to luxury marketing items.
Another benefit of “top down” presentations is that it can set the buyer up psychologically for their next or dream piano. One sales pro I know does a fantastic job of setting up the “next sale” from the “get go” by talking about 100% trade in value and how this piano (the one they are considering) can be a wonderful “stepping stone” on the way to their ultimate fine piano. In the beginning of an exchange you can position the finest piano simply as a gauge (which it truly can and should be) but who knows how fast a seed grows if you throw the rocket fuel of love on it, right?
Finally, it’s our duty to evangelize about the value of fine pianos. How they have and still do make the music world a better place. Educating consumers to the merits and advantages of what only a fine instrument can do and provide needs to be a part of our mission. There are some things keyboards will simply never be able to give us, a good segue into…
YES technology is good and fun and entertaining and in our new normal some of the finest pianos have impressive tech capabilities BUT as small as the world becomes nothing can ever rival the big and beautiful sound of a grand piano being made love to by a passionate player, no sexual reference intended, but music can be extremely moving when played well on a great piano.
So why sell value over price? For many reasons listed above but truly because it is worth it! Worth it to the buyer and the seller and the world as a whole. The logic of choosing price above all else as the determining factor makes little sense in the long run. Would you purchase a skid of oil that doesn’t work for any engine you own because it’s a good deal? I think not. Promoting wisdom in the buying process means ethically and caringly convincing a buyer to find that balance between what they can afford and the benefits of buying the very best they can afford. After the finest piano they can afford goes home and becomes a new family member they will never experience remorse from picking the best one they can justify financially. In this way price can, and should, take a back seat to the best possible love affair they can fund.
If you choose money over love, you will always be poor – Unknown.
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Jack is a thirty year marketing and sales veteran with an insatiable appetite for contributing to the sales success of others. After leaving Cox communications in the late eighties Jack has serviced clients such as: Goodyear, Allstate, Verizon Wireless, Steinway & Sons, and numerous independent businesses. His knack for creating targeted strategies has endeared him to clients who he has been privileged to service in many instances for over two decades.
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