The sales community tends to believe one of the easiest ways to close a sale is by offering a discount. Standard thinking says if you have a customer who is on the fence of making a decision, then offer a lower price and you’ll convince them to buy.

There are several huge problems with this thinking, beyond merely giving away profit (all under the excuse of being able to close a sale).

Discounting Hurts the Selling Process

The first problem with discounting your price to close a sale is it changes the entire selling process. Whether you realize it or not, when discounting becomes one of your selling tools, it quickly begins to overshadow other more meaningful selling tools. Subconsciously, we move from focusing on helping the customer with the benefit they desire, to justifying in our own mind that the only way we will make the sale is with a discount.

The second problem – and this one is even bigger – is that using a discount to close the sale puts an aura of doubt in the mind of the customer. The doubt is exposed in two ways. One is the customer in their mind begins to question the entire value proposition. They see the sudden urge by the salesperson to offer a discount as the salesperson not even having full belief in what they’re selling. In addition, customer senses that because one discount was given, there is potentially an even bigger discount to be had. Once a customer believes there is more money at stake, then all bets are off. Why should any customer agree to buy if they feel they could get a lower price?

Discounting Leads to Distrust

Having the ability to close a sale using discounts should simply not be part of the selling process. The objective of the sales process is to communicate the price/value relationship and the unique selling proposition the salesperson is providing the customer. Think about that for a moment. If you’re going to spend all of your time demonstrating value and then at the last minute offer a discount, what does that say about everything else you’ve told the customer? 

What you’ve told the customer is you lie. No, you’re not doing it intentionally, but that is what the customer perceives. Discounting your price at the end to close a sale calls into question everything you’ve said to the customer to this point. Every question you ask and every statement you make must be geared toward helping convey the value of the benefits the customer will receive. The better your dialogue with the customer, the more information with which you will have to close the sale without having to resort to price.

Discounting Ignores Needs

One of the objectives you want to have going into the closing phase of the call is knowing at least three key needs the customer has with at least one of them linked to time. The reason for this is simple – knowing these things gives you the ability to focus the customer on the needs they have and the importance of solving them quickly. Price is totally irrelevant when the customer’s needs are fully exposed and they understand the full magnitude of what they want to either accomplish or avoid. When we have the customer focused 100% against their needs, we don’t have to bring up price, and the customer also is far less likely to bring it up.

Where the salesperson tends to make mistakes with regard to price is forgetting about the needs of the customer and reverting to discussing price. It’s at this point the sales process stalls out. We will close far more sales when we eliminate price and the idea of discounting from our sales process and focus 100% on the customer.To keep the entire process simple, make it a point from the first time you meet with the customer to record every need the customer brings up. Record every benefit and outcome they desire, regardless of how trivial you might feel they are. The bigger your list, the more you will have to pick from when it comes to presenting your solution. 

There is not one need, benefit or expected outcome raised by a customer that does not warrant you asking a question. Stop thinking the conversation is about price. It’s about the customer and the solution you know you can provide to them.

To read much more on the subject of pricing, download the free ebook How to Set Your Sales Prices.