If your prospect asks, "Why is your product so expensive?" you can answer like this: 1. Feign ignorance You can ask vaguely, "What do you mean specifically?" or "Why do you think that?" 2. Get to the bottom of it Ask a counter-question to dig out exact information: "What standard are you using to compare with this price?" 3. Ask for a definition Ask the other party to define a term and explain further: "Can you be specific about what 'too expensive' means?" 4. Play dumb You can politely ask back, "Could you elaborate a bit more?" 5. Lead them in You can assume your prospect already has an intention and probe their true stance: "Is price the key factor in our cooperation?" 6. Either/or Let the other party make a choice: "Are you referring to Product A or Product B?" 7. Turn the tables If you don't know how to answer at the moment, you can ask back, "If you were me, what price do you think would satisfy everyone?" 8. Delay tactic Sometimes you need to downplay the prospect's concern; you can handle it like this: "Let's note this issue first and discuss it after we finish, okay?" 9. Adapt on the fly Pay attention to the tools the prospect uses, then ask, "So-and-so, why do you use IBM instead of other brands of computers?" Counter-questioning is an effective means to get out of a tight spot. Effective counter-questions often change the prospect's original thinking, help them understand your advantages more deeply, and let you learn more useful information. The 20-character core of negotiation skills To sum up negotiation skills in 20 characters: "步步为营,逐渐引诱,有礼有节,不卑不亢,及时出手" (step by step, gradually lure, be polite and measured, neither humble nor pushy, act in time)! ◆Step by step, gradually lure: Negotiation must have steps and proceed according to them; solve problems one by one; don't rush; plan and be prepared. (1) Negotiation is a plan. A skilled salesperson lists all the steps and issues to discuss before negotiating with the client, arranges the order, and makes preliminary judgments on some questions the client might raise. In actual negotiations, being led by the nose often happens mainly because there is no plan or clear line of thought. If interrupted, you lose your main thread. After the talk, you find you've spent hours on one issue and haven't touched on others. The whole negotiation fails! If you plan first and follow the planned line, when the client raises questions or tries to divert you, you simply answer briefly and return to the original steps to continue. (2) Negotiation cannot be fast. Some salespeople think the negotiation is done once they've told the client everything, but then the client raises a bunch of questions, none of which they can solve, and the matter remains unresolved. For example: The manager sends a salesperson to arrange a promotion with a client and settle the previous payment. The salesperson goes, tells the client the promotion plan, and immediately brings up the payment. The client then raises a pile of market issues. The salesperson hears them and thinks, "That's it! I can't solve any of these, so the payment won't happen." Why? Too fast! Wrong order! Before understanding the other party's needs, avoid revealing your hand too quickly. Rearrange the negotiation steps and proceed one by one; the result will be vastly different. First, go to the client to understand the market situation. The client will surely raise many market issues. After the client finishes, tell them that after careful consideration, you've arranged a promotion to alleviate and solve the market problems, and discuss the next steps for the market with the client, then finally bring up the payment. Think about it: if you were the client, would you refuse to pay? Not paying would be hard to justify! (3) Negotiation is a process of bargaining. Avoid stating all your problems at once; state them one by one and discuss solutions one by one. Don't bring up the second issue before the first is resolved. Otherwise, as soon as you mention the second, you'll be dragged into a passive, unresolved new negotiation. (4) Negotiation is a trap game; deliberately set some well-intentioned "traps" to lure the client into "compliance." ◆Be polite and measured, neither humble nor pushy: Respect the client, but with principles and appropriately. Respecting others is a virtue, especially since "the customer is God." We need to listen to customer complaints and sometimes play the role of a "punching bag." Customers often want to vent and find a listener. But what I want to say here is: respect the client with principles and appropriately. In actual sales, some salespeople are completely obsequious to clients, not daring to say "no." That's "overdone" or "going too far." I once accompanied a sales rep to dinner with a client. For the entire 3 hours, the rep was all flattery: "You're amazing!" "Your business is big!" "You're a great person, everyone says so!" "We're most assured with you!" "You're our role model!"... The client liked it, got dizzy, and told us his entrepreneurial story. Three hours passed, and nothing was accomplished. There are also some clients who like to show off and make things difficult for sales reps. With such clients, pure respect won't close the deal. I once encountered such a client. He had a big business and was our second-tier client, always wanting to become first-tier. The company sent many people, and after inspections, they all felt it wasn't feasible for now. I visited him. As soon as I entered and introduced myself, he scolded me. I said calmly and firmly: "Manager, I know you have some misunderstandings about our company. I came to visit you out of courtesy, and you shouldn't treat me like this. Even if we bumped into each other on the street, you wouldn't treat a stranger like this. Moreover, you're still selling our products and want to continue, and you're making money! You shouldn't treat me like this. If there are problems, speak up. Times have changed, situations have changed. Only by discussing together can we find a solution!" He realized this young man was different from others, and he poured out all his complaints and reasons, even apologizing to me! Later, the business was done, and we became good friends! In negotiation, there is also a conflict between emotion and principles. Many salespeople build good relationships with clients but are afraid to directly explain institutionalized, standardized regulations, fearing it will damage the friendship. They give vague explanations on policy issues, causing misunderstandings. When the settlement date arrives, conflicts arise, and they part on bad terms! Here I emphasize a few points: a. Don't reveal policy matters all at once; b. Don't make decisions on unclear matters without authorization; c. Listen carefully to customer complaints; d. Don't be vague on matters of principle; explain them carefully. ◆Act in time: Be good at identifying and seizing closing opportunities to close the deal. (1) Identify closing opportunities What are closing opportunities? For example, after the client asks about performance, features, and quality, then asks about price without raising objections, and then discusses after-sales service. At this point, the closing opportunity has appeared. If you answer all the after-sales questions, the deal is as good as done! If the client only negotiates on price and raises no other questions, a closing opportunity appears. At this point, the salesperson only needs to explain "value for money" and "more than worth it" to dispel the client's doubts about price, and the deal can be closed immediately. Or after several rounds of bargaining, give a little concession and tell the client this is your bottom line, so don't miss the opportunity. (2) Use clever words to close the deal In retail, there is a statistic: 20% of customers plan to buy a certain product in advance, while 80% make purchase decisions on the spur of the moment. Most customers buy randomly and are greatly influenced by the salesperson. The salesperson's introduction and service are important bases for their purchase decisions. Salespeople mainly influence customers through language, conversation, and questioning. By studying cases where deals were not closed, it's clear that they failed to identify closing opportunities and failed to use conversation and questioning techniques to close. So sometimes we say, "If you didn't close, it's because you didn't speak well or ask well." A. The most common conversation technique: the "two-point" method, where you offer the customer only two choices, and either one forces them to buy. Example 1: Ask the customer a. "Are you buying one bag or one piece of ** product?" b. "Are you buying one piece or two pieces of ** product?" Example 2: When the customer asks, "Do you have ** product in red now?" Salesperson answers: "No" (wrong answer) Salesperson answers: "We have yellow and blue now; both colors look great." Also, try to use affirmative tone in questions. Example 1: "Do you have a contact number?" (wrong) "What is your contact number?" (correct) Example 2: "Do you want ** product?" (wrong) "How many pieces of ** product do you want?" (correct) B. Use others' words to impress the customer Skillfully quoting a third party's evaluation of your product to your customer can sometimes be very effective. Example 1: Sometimes the negotiation is deadlocked, and then a customer walks in and says, "I've used ** product, and it works well." The situation changes instantly. Example 2: When doing terminal sales, use the actions and evaluations of big accounts or well-known stores to impress and persuade customers. ◆Handling details after closing the sale Post-sale handling is an important part of the sales process; it affects whether the sale is truly realized and whether there will be a second purchase. It involves contracts, payments, after-sales tracking, market operations, etc. Here I mainly discuss how to build a friendship with the customer and develop the relationship toward friends and partners. "Consultative" customer service, progressing together with the customer. (1) Have you ever recommended marketing or business magazines to customers? (2) Have you told customers about industry trends? (3) Do you remember all customers' birthdays and call to wish them? (4) Have you taken customers to the company's external webpage to search for industry information? (5) Have you told customers how to select new products at trade shows and expos? (6) Have you discussed with customers how they will do business next? (7) Have you advised customers on how to manage sales staff? (8) Have you advised customers on how to build their own brands? ... Ask yourself: What have you done for "consultative" customer service? Why do some salespeople have high performance and still feel relaxed? Others have poor performance and feel tired? This is mainly due to differences in customer service. After completing normal business handling, complaint handling, and customer management, try doing some of the above, enrich and implement them, and what awaits you is—surprise! -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent article selection | 002 Distributor market operations | 003 Terminal visit management | 004 Sales supervisor skills | 005 Sales improvement techniques | 006 Channel expansion | 007 Managing distributors | 008 Distributor development | 009 Distributor internal operations management | 010 Team management | 011 Efficient distribution techniques | 012 Sales manager's eighteen skills | 013 KA operation methods and strategies | 014 First lesson for new salespeople | 015 Internet, brands | 016 Distributor B2B transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]