Why You Are Struggling With Price

Your competitors sell at a lower price. It’s tough to win when your competitors are willing to give away what they should be selling. But there is nothing you can do about your competitors.

If this is your struggle, one or more of the following four reasons is the root cause of your losses.

1. You Don’t Believe

This is the first–and most pernicious–reason you have trouble selling at a higher price than your competitors. If you don’t believe in your heart–and with every fiber of your being–that you are creating more value than any alternative, then you won’t be able to capture more value. If you don’t believe you are worth more, than no one else is going to believe it either. And they are right not to.

2. You Are Selling From Behind

Whenever I hear from salespeople and sales leaders that they are having trouble capturing some of the greater value they create, I believe it is because they are struggling to justify a higher price point. But more often than not I discover that they are selling from behind. Instead of calling on their dream clients, that are reactive, sitting by waiting for someone to reach out to invite them to an RFP.

Selling from behind eliminates the ability for you to create value during the buyer’s journey. You are too late in the process.

3. You Can’t Justify Your Higher Price

If you want to capture a greater portion of the value that you create, you need to be able to justify your higher price. You need to be able to help your client understand the additional value they are receiving, and you need to be able to help them defend the value you create within their organization.

If you want your dream client to perceive the value, help them by sharing what makes you different and how it makes a difference. Then give them the logic, language, and evidence to defend that value.

4. You Aren’t Selling to Your Dream Clients

There are some prospects with systemic challenges to paying for value. In some cases, what you do doesn’t create enough value. In other cases, your prospect’s low margin prevents them from making the necessary investments in their own business. And there are some who have a mindset that only accepts lowest price as the greatest value. These are not your dream clients.

If you want to capture value, you have to sell to people who perceive that value. This is why it is critical that you invest your time and energy on the right targets.

Questions

Do you believe your higher price is justified? Do you believe you create more value?

Are you in front of the buyer’s process or behind it?

Can you justify your higher price? Can you describe the ways the greater value you create benefits your clients?

Are you selling to people who can’t, don’t, or won’t perceive value in what you sell?