This client wanted a website from me, but then objects when i give price ?

9 years ago

Try spin selling, ive found it works pretty effectively, but the one rule i go by is on to the next one

Edit: actually what i use all the time is i say oh well a video will cost $1k, but for you i can do just $500, sound fair enough? that works very well

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umc

9 years ago

Could you have done more to close him? Possibly.

Could it just be that you called someone that was cheap (thus the page builder on Godaddy) and that cared more about cheap than quality? Possibly.

You could always do more, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can close everyone. The sales pros on here will come with lots of advice, I'm sure, so be attentive to it, but don't think that you can always sell every call.

I'll take a stab at offering one piece of advice. It seems like you prospect there was concerned about the mobile version primarily and your price was too far a jump from his current cheap service so he's off to see if he can make his cheaper one work well enough. Maybe you could have built some value by showing him how much he business he may be losing by not being mobile friendly. People will often react stronger to an avoidance of losing something than they will to get something. Here this guy is losing money because his site looks bad or performs poorly and you could have really pointed this out. You aren't just selling websites that look better or that are mobile ready, you are selling them business results in the form of more customers by engaging them on your websites. Business owners want more business. You offered him a prettier site and that wasn't worth the price to him. Maybe if you went through the potential loss that he is suffering because of his inadequate site it could have helped. Then again, some people think a website should cost $10 because that's what a particular site builder costs, and those people aren't your market if they feel that way, so move on and find people in your market.

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animal44

9 years ago

You need to control the conversation.

Why does he want a website? - dig down deep.
Why does he think mobile is important?
How many searches are done each month? On mobile?
What is his customer value?

Does he think more people finding his website would give him more customers? (upsell SEO).
Does he think increasing conversion would give him more customers? (upsell split testing)
Does he think regular communication with prospects would give him more customers? (upsell email marketing)

Do you really charge $800 whether it's a brochure site or a full ecommerce site...? Find out his requirements and the customer value before committing to a price.

Originally Posted by umc

I'll take a stab at offering one piece of advice. It seems like you prospect there was concerned about the mobile version primarily and your price was too far a jump from his current cheap service so he's off to see if he can make his cheaper one work well enough. Maybe you could have built some value by showing him how much he business he may be losing by not being mobile friendly. People will often react stronger to an avoidance of losing something than they will to get something. Here this guy is losing money because his site looks bad or performs poorly and you could have really pointed this out. You aren't just selling websites that look better or that are mobile ready, you are selling them business results in the form of more customers by engaging them on your websites. Business owners want more business. You offered him a prettier site and that wasn't worth the price to him. Maybe if you went through the potential loss that he is suffering because of his inadequate site it could have helped. Then again, some people think a website should cost $10 because that's what a particular site builder costs, and those people aren't your market if they feel that way, so move on and find people in your market.

Not a bad interpretation, however IMHO there's insufficient information to say if this is right.

Not all businesses want more business. Some want to stay static. Others say they want to grow but are so wrapped up in day to day, they can't or won't take any action. Yet others are truly ambitious, but unless you can get their attention and trust, they won't be interested... Each one needs to be handled differently.

You could follow up with a sequence of emails, starting with a thank you for talking. Mention how many mobile searches each month and what he's losing while "tinkering". Keep on emailing good information rather than sales pitches and show off your expertise.... Case studies, white papers, offer "10 things to ask your web developer" free report to capture his email (opt in)

Even if you don't get his business, being constantly in front of him, you may well get some referrals... And if he finally makes up his mind ten years down the line, just maybe he'll call you...

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umc

9 years ago

Originally Posted by animal44

Not a bad interpretation, however IMHO there's insufficient information to say if this is right.

Not all businesses want more business. Some want to stay static. Others say they want to grow but are so wrapped up in day to day, they can't or won't take any action. Yet others are truly ambitious, but unless you can get their attention and trust, they won't be interested... Each one needs to be handled differently.

You're right in that not all businesses want more business. I'm one of them in my cleaning business. However, if the guy was interested in a new site and had particular concerns about mobile readiness, it seems logical to assume that his concern is obtaining more business. Other than ego, why else concern yourself if you don't want more business? I'm not arguing, just asking. I could use a new site myself but I'm not going to put money into something that I purposely try to avoid being seen because I don't want or need more customers. I can't see why the guy would want to drop money on something if he's not expecting it to pay off with new clients. Maybe you can help me see why another business owner would do something like that, and maybe I looked through my own lens too much on the subject.

I loved your advice on following up and staying in front of this prospect. Eventually it may pay off in one way or another, like you said.

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SalesGod

9 years ago

You absolutely could have closed him. If you giving up that easy your probably missing atleast 50% of the deals that you could be closing. That means another web development company with a decent salesman will probably get that sales. Price is the easiest objection to overcome and of there asking that there ready to buy. You need to be aggressive.

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SalesGod 9 years ago

Sorry for typos iPhone screens shattered can't see lol
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quadagon

9 years ago

Could I have closed him more?

If that was a fair reflection of your call then you could have closed to kingdom come and not got the sale.

The issue isn't with the close but with what's gone on before. You've provided the potential customer with absolutely no value and as a result no mental wriggle room.

There is a lot of research that shows that successful sales people ask more questions than poor sales people. They close fewer times and sell more.

So let's look at your call a bit more:

Earlier in the call you need to do some questioning to try and understand why the prospect is thinking about changing.

Essentially this will allow you to use their own reasoning as a close. After the guy asked for samples I would have had a conversation on the following lines:

Q. How long have you had your website?

A. Three years or so

Q. Excellent what made you go with the godaddy builder

A. It was free and quick

Q. What's the purpose of your site?

A. I sell directly from it

Q. Excellent do you get much business?

A. About 10 sales a week

Q. and how much do you tend to make per sale

A. $100 is about normal

Q. So why are you looking to change your website now?

A. It's looking old fashioned and not mobile responsive

Q. Is that important for your business?

A. Yeah more and more people are buying through mobile devices and they really struggle with our site.

Q. I see, so what would happen if you didn't change your site?

A. We'd continue to loose sales.

Q. Is that happening now?

A. Yeah we've seen sales drop off over the last 12 months.

Q. Do you know what the drop off has been?

A. Yeah it's about halfed

Q. Halfed so $1,000 a week. Wow $52,000 a year. So what would happen if sales continue to drop?

A. It's putting a lot of pressure on the business.

Q. So getting your site mobile responsive will stop you from loosing $52,000 a year

A. Yeah

The close should really take care of itself from here on in.

Now every call won't be as forthcoming which is fine they don't need to tell you details you just need them to think about it.

So to bring it back to your call imagine the prospect had a price of $500 in mind. In your call you've given him no reason why he should break his budget to go old school their is no 'what's in it for me'.

In my call I'd quite happily quote him $5,000 - $10,000 for the work. Against 52k it has a good ROI.

$800 would be a no brainier if the works good.

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Will Huntington

9 years ago

Originally Posted by quadagon

If that was a fair reflection of your call then you could have closed to kingdom come and not got the sale.

The issue isn't with the close but with what's gone on before. You've provided the potential customer with absolutely no value and as a result no mental wriggle room.

There is a lot of research that shows that successful sales people ask more questions than poor sales people. They close fewer times and sell more.

So let's look at your call a bit more:

Earlier in the call you need to do some questioning to try and understand why the prospect is thinking about changing.

Essentially this will allow you to use their own reasoning as a close. After the guy asked for samples I would have had a conversation on the following lines:

The close should really take care of itself from here on in.

Now every call won't be as forthcoming which is fine they don't need to tell you details you just need them to think about it.

So to bring it back to your call imagine the prospect had a price of $500 in mind. In your call you've given him no reason why he should break his budget to go old school their is no 'what's in it for me'.

In my call I'd quite happily quote him $5,000 - $10,000 for the work. Against 52k it has a good ROI.

$800 would be a no brainier if the works good.

You know i would read that spin selling shit, but in my mind, i thought the guy was already interested in what i got to offer, if he wanted me to call him about a website, for me it was a complete mind ****, when we didn't go ahead and say yes lets do it.

I didn't realize i needed to be aggressive, or needed to take control of the conversation, or use spin spelling. I thought i was smooth sailing, i didn't know i needed to sell when he was interested in what i got.

The whole day, i was thinking "what did i do wrong", kinda mad at myself for letting that slip.

What you wrote is a total no brainer, in fact i could have asked questions, but i was under the impression that if people had an interest in talking to you about needing a new website, you didn't have to really ask that many questions, i was wrong.

I felt like he controlled the conversation, i felt defeated. But i feel glad, that i recognize that it was my fault for missing the sale. Next time, i know what to do, and that i ask questions, spin sell method.

Thanks
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quadagon

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Will Huntington

I felt like he controlled the conversation, i felt defeated. But i feel glad, that i recognize that it was my fault for missing the sale. Next time, i know what to do, and that i ask questions, spin sell method.

It's a good sign that you are seeing this as a learning experience it means that you won't repeat the same mistakes.

When you are prospecting it's important to be able to answer the following question:

If I am your ideal client why should I buy from you?

This is especially true for web services as today everyones a web designer. There are people on WF positioning themselves as web design experts whilst their own sites are free WP themes.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the spin selling side of things. Really it's about showing value and positioning yourself as an expert how you do this is up to you. SPIN is a philosophy and a technique but there are others.

One area you might want to revisit is the initial conversation.

You can actually use a lot of the spin techniques here to get an understanding of the customers needs.

A question to consider is whether you qualified the prospect. A simple question like 'do you have a budget in mind?' can give you an insight into what they planning. Saying this as apart of the initial conversation and in a conversational manner may let you know whether this lead is worth pursing.

You are looking for $800 maybe the prospect is looking to spend nothing or something like $50.

If they give you a figure like $400 you can either adjust your pricing (ugh) or set expectations. 'I'll not be able to come in below your budget but we can explore your options'.

With this you are are setting expectations but also seeing how firm their budget is.

If it's not worth your while provide great advice and move on.

With regards to this lead is it dead or worth revisiting?

Hell phone him back and find out why he didn't go ahead position it as a favour to yourself.

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Claude Whitacre

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Will Huntington

You know i would read that spin selling shit, but in my mind, i thought the guy was already interested in what i got to offer, if he wanted me to call him about a website, for me it was a complete mind ****, when we didn't go ahead and say yes lets do it. .

He was interested in what he had pictured in his mind, and the price he had imagined.
You ask questions to clarify what he is currently thinking and expecting. Then you ask the questions that lead him to clearly see the need for what you offer (or disqualify him).

Originally Posted by Will Huntington

I felt like he controlled the conversation, i felt defeated. But i feel glad, that i recognize that it was my fault for missing the sale. Next time, i know what to do, and that i ask questions, spin sell method.

That's the right attitude. And that's why you'll improve, when so many others don't.

Quadagon, umc, and Animal44 gave you some phenomenal advice. No need for me to repeat it.

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Jason Kanigan

9 years ago

You really don't know what kind of prospect this was because you hadn't QUALIFIED him.

Many people will pretend to be interested in what you offer so they can get a FREE EDUCATION from you. Price, features, How To...

The important thing is that you are noticing what is going on, and realizing you could get a different result. That's great. Keep at it because this is a learning experience. A course correction, one of a thousand on the way to success.

When we feel 'pain' we remember. You're never going to forget this experience, and what it makes you learn. A lot of people never notice what you noticed, or learn what you're learning.

Qualify first, sell later.

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tpgrm 9 years ago

Remember to approach the sales process in a systematic way. Regardless of your prospects' starting point, you just apply the system.
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animal44

9 years ago

Originally Posted by umc

However, if the guy was interested in a new site and had particular concerns about mobile readiness, it seems logical to assume that his concern is obtaining more business.
...
I can't see why the guy would want to drop money on something if he's not expecting it to pay off with new clients.

Maybe you can help me see why another business owner would do something like that, and maybe I looked through my own lens too much on the subject.

Humans are a mystery to me too!

There are lots of possibilities. Here's a couple...

Maybe someone pointed out that his site didn't display well on a mobile, so he gave this guy (the OP) who he'd just met at a networking meeting a call, to see what it would cost. Maybe he had in mind a $10 fix, a $50 fix, a $100 fix. Maybe because he paid $100 for his original site, his expectations where $10, $50, $100... When OP gave his price, he was just scared off.

More likely, I think, is that he just didn't get the right feel for the OP. Someone said this about OP in another thread, that OP wouldn't get his business as he comes across as an amateur...

Might even be that his price was too cheap...

We don't really know because the OP didn't dig deeply enough...

The decision to buy is always emotional, never logical. So I'd never try to explain it logically... even if I truly understood it myself

This probably hasn't helped your understanding at all...

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DABK

9 years ago

No, he could not absolutely have closed him. You are assuming that the guy had enough money... I've met a lot of people at networking events. Some who didn't have 3 pennies to rub together wanted a website and they acted like they could afford to spend some money to grow their business. To close them, the web designer would have had to sell at $0 to $20.

Originally Posted by SalesGod

You absolutely could have closed him. If you giving up that easy your probably missing atleast 50% of the deals that you could be closing. That means another web development company with a decent salesman will probably get that sales. Price is the easiest objection to overcome and of there asking that there ready to buy. You need to be aggressive.

OP, it wasn't a client, it was a prospect, and, as people have said, he was interested in the movie he has going in his mind about himself and his business.

You showed him a site (or several) and let him script that information into his movie... As others have said, whether they contact you first or you contact them first, it doesn't matter, you should have an idea of what's going on in their mind and direct the movie for them.

But, first, you should know if they can actually afford you... And that means, they have the money to pay you should they like what you offer AND they are willing to part with whatever money you want (and here some won't because you have not shown value and some won't because they're stubborn or can get the same value somewhere else or because it's Tuesday or their mother breastfed them for 11 months).

I would very much like, today, to own a yacht I saw for sale for over $2 millions. It's gorgeous. Don't know what I'd do with it if I had it seeing that I don't like water on account of it being wet. But I'd like owning one. And if some 2-million-dollar-yacht-salesperson caught me during my lunch hour, I'd sit down with them and pretend I'm a for-real 2+ million dollar yacht buying prospect.

I would even ask if I could have geometric teal-inlays in the living room rosewood floor, for Christ sake!

It would just make me tingle all over.

And I'm not the weirdest one out there.

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Will Huntington

9 years ago

Originally Posted by DABK

No, he could not absolutely have closed him. You are assuming that the guy had enough money... I've met a lot of people at networking events. Some who didn't have 3 pennies to rub together wanted a website and they acted like they could afford to spend some money to grow their business. To close them, the web designer would have had to sell at $0 to $20.

LOL rub two pennies together

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DABK 9 years ago

LOL squared: rubbing 2 of them begets a platitude, rubbing 3 is still fresh (and the mark of a great writer and a great mind too).

Originally Posted by Will Huntington

LOL rub two pennies together
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This client wanted a website from me, but then objects when i give price ?

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