"You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” – Anonymous

The first sale you need to make, the old saying goes, is to yourself. I'm reviewing a Zoom sales presentation and when the salesperson gets to pricing, he says, ". . .but instead of breaking the bank right now, you can get started with . . ." the lowest price option.
The problem is I don't remember the buyer mentioning a budget or constraint or anything hinting at a price that would break the bank. I review the recording to make sure I didn't miss anything, then ask the rep why he went with the lower option. He said, "looking at him and his office I made an assumption."
This was a Zoom call. Besides the company's website, a quick LinkedIn search, and 15 minutes of introduction, we come to the conclusion it was a big assumption to make. However, the next presentation I review he does the same thing. Puts a price objection in where there isn't one.
I am beginning to think he doesn't believe the service is worth the price. I know because I've been there myself.
Back when I was a very young person trying to sell life insurance, my manager demanded I buy a one-million-dollar insurance policy on myself. It was a long time ago and $1MM put me in the way-over-insured category. The whole time I thought to myself, why am I doing this? I can't afford it. It's overkill. Much later, long after leaving the insurance biz, I asked myself, why did he do it?
Besides his override commission (my first thought) I think he was testing my commitment to the product. Giving me skin in the game, so I could say, "Hey! I believe in this so much I am paying as much as you can possibly pay for it! You should buy it too!"
I don't know if one has to go that far, but I appreciate his intentions. If I wouldn't buy it myself, how could I sell it?
If your people are discounting or offering a lot of comp work, it's worth asking them, "would you pay this much for our product?"
The first sale is to yourself, even in complex, business-to-business, professional services.
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