Mark Hunter, known as, "The Sales Hunter," is globally recognized for his expertise in sales leadership. He specializes in business development and guiding organizations to find and retain high-quality prospects without discounting their fee. His ability to inspire sales teams to create self motivating and integrity driven cultures, makes Mark Hunter a highly sought after keynote speaker, consultant and coach. Mark has taken his vision for sales leadership to more than 25 countries and 5 continents where he leads and consults with companies ranging from small startups to global giants.

Introduction

OVER THE Y E A R S , I’ve been amazed at the number of

times salespeople have asked me how they can avoid

lowering a price to close a deal. As many times as I’ve

been asked, I know there are hundreds more salespeople wondering

the same thing. The tactic of giving someone a lower

price as an incentive to close a deal is certainly not new. It has

been going on for as long as there have been people looking to

sell something to someone else. What astounds me, though, is

that cutting prices to close a deal seems to happen regardless

of whether the item is staggeringly expensive or supercheap.

Customers want a deal, and too many salespeople are more

than willing to give that deal, regardless of the negative consequences.

But will the customer buy if the price isn’t lowered? This

is a vital piece of information to have if you want to close the

deal. Unfortunately, many salespeople don’t dig deep enough

to find the answer. The end result is the salesperson simply

resorts to lowering the price. When the salesperson gives in

once on price, the sales process usually becomes a game where

customers wait to see how low they can get the salesperson

to go on price—and everything else. Profits continue to erode

at an expanding rate until the damage is done (and even then,

some salespeople still don’t realize the extent of the damage).

The purpose of this book is to show you how you can

avoid cutting prices to close sales. I’ll even show you that

instead of cutting prices, in many cases you actually can raise

them! For some of you, this is an unheard-of concept because

never has a week gone by in your selling career that didn’t

involve lowering price, regardless of the impact on you or

your company.

I am dedicated to showing salespeople how to avoid this

habit of discounting. While it is definitely possible to stay firm

on your price (and even raise it), I’m not saying it is easy. If

you are looking for a couple of quick, easy steps, this book

isn’t for you. If, however, you want to make solid changes in

your sales process that will lead to high-profit selling, then you

have arrived at the right place. I will walk you through each

phase of the selling process, from finding the right prospects

to closing the sale. You will learn the techniques and ideas that

you can best adapt for your situation and industry.

The core of the problem rarely is a customer who is

not willing to pay. Rather, I believe the problem begins with

salespeople who do not believe in the price they are asking. If

the salesperson does not believe in the price, then there is no

way the customer will ever choose to pay anything that is not

discounted. Harboring internal doubts about price affects the

salesperson’s ability to close sales and, more important, to ensure

the profit margin.

In this book I’ll share personal stories—good and bad—

about how I have dealt with issues on sales calls. The experiences

cover a cross section of my more than twenty-five years

as a salesperson and now as a consultant and speaker on sales

and, particularly, on pricing. I think you will find that my

stories are similar to situations you have already faced or are

currently facing.

Many salespeople claim that price is one of the biggest

issues they confront when closing a sale. To me, it’s debatable

whether price is genuinely a big issue or simply something we

have come to believe is a big issue. I devote considerable time

in this book to helping you determine whether price is the real,

underlying issue holding back a sale or if the customer is merely

saying it is the issue. More important, I’ll show you how to

respond to the customer and even how to avoid getting into

situations where price becomes the central focus. It may surprise

you, but when selling situations are consumed with discussion

about price, it usually means the salesperson is dealing

with the wrong type of customer. You want customers who

are focused less on price and more on how your product or

service meets their needs and delivers desired benefits.

High-profit selling is all about changing how you think.

If you change how you think, you can then change how you

deal with the customer. By changing how you deal with the

customer, you can take control of the process and move yourself

away from dependence on discounting to closing sales.

In all my years in the selling profession, I have seen

countless techniques that customers use to try to get a salesperson

to lower the price. I will walk you through the more

prevalent situations, including how to handle professional

buyers and requests for proposals. My goal is to offer you solid

solutions for the problems you face. After reading this book,

you’ll be better prepared to go into your next sales call without

relying on discounting to actually close the sale. Finally,

I’ll share with you the exact steps you need to take to avoid

the many problems that can arise when a company attempts

to increase its price.

High-profit selling sounds good, doesn’t it? It does to me!

Let me show you that there is nothing wrong with high profits

when they allow both you and the customer to win.