Kelley Robertson began his retail sales career in a men’s clothing store in the mid-seventies. With no retail experience or sales training, he struggled to make ends meet and eventually changed directions by moving into the hospitality industry. For over a decade he worked in a managerial capacity for several large chains and in 1990 began training employees, managers and owner/operators. During the next five years, he hired and trained close to 1000 service staff for approximately twenty new restaurants.
In 1995, he returned to retail to provide retail sales training for the retail sales division of Sony of Canada and helped the Sony Stores become one of Canada top retailers of consumer electronics. The retail sales training programs and resources he developed are recognized around the world within the Sony organization and have been used by Sony Latin America as well as Sony Mexico.
Kelley left the corporate world to start his private practice in 2002. Since then, he has worked with dozens of different retailers and businesses. His retail client list boasts names such as; 1000 Island Duty Free, Crabtree & Evelyn, Conestoga Shopping Centre, Hillebrand Estates Winery, Home Hardware, J. Michaels, Nutrition House, Part Source, Peller Estates Winery, Quinte Mall, Rogers Video, Rural Roots, Sony Stores, Superior Tire, The Wine Shoppe, and West Ottawa Hyundai.
Non-retail clients include: Canadian Franchise Association, Canadian Health Food Association, Canadian Boating Industry, City of Brampton, Class “A” Fire & Rescue, Creative Outdoor Advertising, Davis Skill Games, Delta Resorts, Epic Plant Company, Nord Gear, Preferred Nutrition, and Personal Service Coffee.
He is the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques to Turn Browsers into Buyers.” Published by John Wiley & Sons, this unique retail sales guide has sold over 7,000 copies and presents easy-to-use customer-focused selling strategies that work in the real world. Readers have reported doubling their sales within four weeks of applying the sales concepts contained in this book.
Kelley is a frequent contributor to magazines and his articles have appeared in dozens of publications and hundreds of websites around the world. Some of the magazines his articles have appeared in include; Bed Times, Boating Industry Canada, Canadian Vending, Canadian Business Franchise, Dartnell’s Selling!, Graphic Arts, Home Business Magazine, Luggage Leather & Accessories, Professional Door Dealer, Professional Jeweler, Sales Promotion, Sleep Products, Staff Digest, and Tire News.
He also publishes the 59 Second Tip, a free electronic newsletter that offers practical sales and motivation advice every Monday morning. Receive a free copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to this free sales and motivational newsletter. Subscribe here.
As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to retail sales training and speaking. He specializes in helping businesses increase their sales, develop better negotiating skills, coach and motivate their employees, create powerful work teams and deliver outstanding customer service. See his programs here.
http://www.kelleyrobertson.com/index.html
You are talking to a customer and after you present
your product, service or solution, she asks, "What
discount can I get?" or "What can you do about the
price?" Think before you speak otherwise this
innocent-sounding question will cost you money right
off your bottom line. While it's tempting to offer a
discount or better price resist the desire to do so.
Here's why.
You are talking to a customer and after you present
your product, service or solution, she asks, "What
discount can I get?" or "What can you do about the
price?" Think before you speak otherwise this
innocent-sounding question will cost you money right
off your bottom line. While it's tempting to offer a
discount or better price resist the desire to do so.
Here's why.
First, just because someone asks you for a better
price, does not mean they expect to get it. Some
people ask for a discount because they have been told
to. They are often uncomfortable doing this and will
seldom press the issue. However, professional
buyers and key decision-makers know that many
sellers will drop their price at the first sign of
resistance so they ask everyone for a discount-and
they can be aggressive in their approach. Plus,
experienced negotiators lose respect for people who
drop their price too quickly. Standing your ground and
refusing to cave in right away is also a show of
strength and executives respect this type of behaviour.
Second, when you drop your price too quickly, you
teach your customer to repeat that behaviour in future
transactions. Remember, everything you do now
affects your customer's behaviour toward you in the
future. When I first started my private practice, I gave a
client a discount on a package of services. The next
time he contacted, he demanded that same discount
which put me in a somewhat precarious position-did
I give the same discount or risk losing the sale? A
business executive once told me that she knew which
of her suppliers she could browbeat into giving her a
better price and she always took advantage of that
perceived weakness.
So, what is the best way to respond to a request for a
discount or better price?
Professional negotiators will tell you to flinch. A flinch
is a visible reaction to a request or demand and goes
something like this, "You want a discount!?! Even
though we have been working together for four years
and you know our services will help you get better
results you still want a discount?" When coupled with
the right facial expressions and body language, this
technique is extremely effective. However, I have found
that most people are extremely uncomfortable using
this approach and even I find it difficult to apply on a
consistent basis.
An effective way to respond to a request for a better
price is to ask, "What did you have in mind?" or "What
were you looking for?" When you ask one of these
questions, you get the other person to tell you how
much of a discount they want. In many cases, their
expectation will be less than you are prepared to give
which means you will increase the size of the sale and
save money at the same time-a double win. One
word of caution here-an experienced negotiator will
say, "Well, I want a better price than this" which means
you need to be prepared to ask the question a couple
of times.
This also applies to email correspondence. Many
people will ask their sales person for a discount via
email which makes it next to impossible to use some
of the standard negotiating techniques. Before you
respond by offering a better price, take the time to
properly craft your email. Here is what you can
say, "We might be able to do something for you. What
did you have in mind?" The key is to give the indication
that you have flexibility without committing to
something you might regret later.
This sounds like an easy technique to use but it's not.
You have to train yourself to listen for your customer's
question and be prepared to respond with your own. I
hate to admit it but I have fallen for this question
because I wasn't expecting it. In one situation, an
existing client asked me for a package price on some
bundled services. Instead of responding by asking
what price he was looking for, I automatically offered a
small discount. I kicked myself afterwards because I
felt that I should know better.
It is essential to listen carefully to what your prospect
says and to think before you speak. It is also critical to
practise asking your question until it becomes second-
nature so you can respond quickly when a prospect
asks for a discount or better price.
© 2008 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved.
Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales professionals improve their results. Receive a FREE copy of "100 Ways to Increase Your Sales" by subscribing to his free newsletter available at http://www.kelleyrobertson.com Kelley conducts workshops and speaks regularly at sales meetings and conferences. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com