You’ve been there before. Your presentation is one of your best, and the potential client is showing many buying signals that you know are on point. Then, the dreaded words come in: “I don’t think I can afford it.” It’s too costly! There have been many closes over the years that dealt with the “price objection”. But hearing the words “It’s too costly!” is the most common response. The pulse rate of even the most experienced salespeople will rise.
This objection is something you’ve heard before. And suddenly you realized that in order to sell the product, you had to get rid of their price objection. Did you really need to? Research suggests that it could be the worst choice you make.
People prefer to purchase insurance than ever before. They don’t like being sold. Anyone with an internet connection has access to virtually unlimited options when it comes time to choose who will cover them. Consumers are much more savvy today and can instantly recognize when they’re being “closed”, something they don’t like. Unfortunately, many agents still use the outdated model of “overcoming objections”.
You might be asking, “Since people object to price, what can I do?” You can just walk away if you hear “It’s too costly.” This would seem to be the only option, but it is not.
Recent research shows that it is possible reduce or eliminate resistance from others. This is quite different from the old model of trying bulldoze your way through it. It’s as simple as this. A salesman may be able to convince you to purchase a green car even if you really hate the color green. Imagine being offered $50,000 cash to buy the green car. Most people would buy it. Let’s dig deeper and find out what really happened.
Your resistance to green was not reduced, eliminated or lowered. Temporarily, the $50,000 bonus has distracted you from your resistance to green cars. You’ll have one thing left after the $50,000 bonus is gone or the excitement of your “lucky” wears off. It’s a green vehicle. It was not possible to overcome your resistance effectively.
It has been a tradition to make comparisons in order to overcome objections for many decades. One might compare the cost of extended hospital stays to the cost of insurance. This is too obvious in today’s market. They soon realize that you are trying to make them feel differently about the premium. This realization may cause them to resist further, and dig in deeper.
However, there is another way to use the power to compare, but it is done more secretly. The comparison is made in the mind of the person, and not by you having to have compared anything. This leaves them with the feeling that they made it their decision.
This can be done by placing a seemingly unrelated anchor (a dollar value) earlier in the presentation or conversation. If I were to present a policy with an annual premium of $7,000. I would “plant” in their minds a higher dollar amount. Even if the dollar amount is not related to insurance, the next dollar amount (the insurance premium), will be discussed.
It might sound like this. Bill, let me tell you about my boat before we start today. Knowing how much you love fishing, I knew that you would want to see it. Although $63,000 seems like a large sum for a fishing boat, it is something my family will enjoy for many years. You can contact me to arrange a visit.
The anchor of $63,000 has been planted. The anchor of $63,000 is now secure.
This is how it works. If you say, “I’m going ask you to choose a number.” You can think of 45,000. What’s your number? Most likely, you will choose a number in the thousands. Instead, I will say “I’m thinking about 7. Which number is your number? You’ll likely choose a number lower than 100. Why? Because I told you my number, an anchor that I placed. You could pick any number, but I actually influenced the number that you chose. Although there are many ways to reduce resistance, this is the best.