Have you ever asked yourself, “Is low price a feature or a benefit?”  Few salespeople have asked such a question, yet so many of them do indeed sell price as a feature.

They often don’t even try to turn price into a benefit. Honestly, I don’t think it’s a benefit either, but you’ll need to keep reading to find out what I mean.

One of the first things a new salesperson should learn is that customers don’t buy features. They invest in outcomes. The more a salesperson can focus on a customer’s desired outcomes, the more likely they will make a sale.

That’s why it is somewhat ironic that so many salespeople portray price as a feature.

Is Low Price a Benefit?

Salespeople are quick to say how price drives sales. Subsequently, they believe if the price is low, they sell more, and conversely, if the price is high, they sell less. “Price drives sales,” they'll argue.

Sorry, that is not the case and here’s why: They are positioning price as if it were a feature, and customers don’t buy features!

The most successful salespeople know that price is neither a feature nor a benefit. Why? It’s simple – positioning price as a feature or benefit does not help the selling process one bit.

Remember, customers don’t buy; they only invest. They are willing to invest because they are looking to reach a specific outcome. Their only interest in what you’re selling is the degree to which it can move them toward that outcome.

This means price isn’t a benefit at all. The only way price would be a benefit is if the customer was eagerly looking to waste money for the sheer pleasure of spending it. Even in that case, price is not the benefit. The benefit is the pleasure of spending.

Is Low Price a Feature?

Now let me deflate the argument of low price as a feature. If you’re promoting yourself as having the lowest price, then your low price is a feature. Problem is that no matter how low the price, if the product or service doesn’t help the customer achieve their desired outcome, low price means nothing. Therefore, low price as a feature has zero value!

Now let me give you an example that should change the minds of any skeptics that still aren't convinced.

If I were selling an item at the lowest price on the market, I would attract some customers, but they still wouldn’t buy if my product or service doesn’t help them. Conversely, I could have the highest priced item in the market, and if the customer knew it was going to help them more than any other option, they would buy.

We need to quit viewing price as a feature or benefit. When we see it as a feature or benefit, our thinking migrates toward discussing price with the customer when such discussions aren’t necessary.

For another example, look at the number of people buying coffee from Starbucks. Can you buy coffee cheaper someplace else? Sure, but that fact doesn’t keep people away from Starbucks.

The price of a drink at Starbucks is neither a feature nor a benefit. If Starbucks saw it as one or the other, they would most likely have lower prices. Would they sell more coffee? Some could argue yes, but the fact is they have a position in the marketplace that allows them to command the price they do. They are focused on the customer’s desired outcome. Obviously, Starbucks’ rightly placed focus has created an extremely successful company.

Push yourself to move away from bringing up price in your conversations with customers. Price should only arise when you are ready to close the deal. When you steer clear of price early in the sales process, you have more energy to devote toward getting the customer to define their desired outcomes.

You can then get to the business of explaining how you can help them with those. Putting price into the discussion at any time before that point means you’re attempting to use price as a feature or benefit. That’s a big mistake, and you will never achieve real success with that approach.

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” is author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price. He is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. He was named one of the Top 50 Influencers in Sales by Top Sales World.  To receive a free weekly sales tip and read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also follow him on Twitter, on Facebook and on LinkedIn.

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