Buying the money excuse will cost you

The most common objections sales people hear are, “I can’t afford it,” “It’s not in my budget,” or “It’s too expensive.”  This may come as a surprise, but when a customer objects to price, it’s almost never about the money. It’s actually a blaring symptom of a much bigger issue in your sales process.

How many times have you bought that line from your customers when they deployed their money excuse on you?  They’re selling the money excuse, and you’re buying it every time. The money objection is not something I can attempt to fix in an article because of its complexity. My purpose is to raise your level of awareness, see it for what it is and if you choose to fix it, you can. Continuing to buy into this excuse will cause you to leave a lot of money on the table.

Potential customers are afraid to part with their money. Money equals security, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re asking them to part with $19.95 or $1,995 for your product.  People are happy to spend their money when they see there’s more value in having your product than in keeping their money. 

Customers use the money objection because they don’t know what else to say.  It’s been used on sales people for years and it’s the easiest way to get you to back off and retreat. The money objection creates a protective barrier around the customer so they can hide from making a decision or from telling you no.

When you start buying into a customer’s money story, they have effectively sold you. They sold you on why they cannot buy what you’re selling.  Avoid getting caught up in their money banter because it’s a black hole, costing you precious time, money and energy.

Instead, realize there is something below the surface of their objection and it’s your job find out what that is. If you’re a great salesperson, your job is to educate them past their objection and help remove this barrier.  I can go into a dozen ways to fix this scenario but every business situation is unique. I would be doing you a disservice by dispensing advice that may or may not work in your business.  I’m attempting to get you to see that if you continue believing the money objection, you’ll continue to negatively affect your bottom line.

“I can’t afford it is the default excuse” and customer code for “no.”  It’s your job to decode and translate what that means.  When someone says, “I cannot afford it,” it can mean any number of things. It can mean, “I don’t really want to change so that is my excuse for ending this conversation.” Or it can mean “I know there is a problem but the investment is outside my comfort zone.” Or it can mean “I can’t see the value in your offering.”

This is where it gets a bit complex and you’ll have to play the game of truth or excuse.  You’ll have to determine if they’re objecting because your offer is really outside of their comfort zone or if they’re reluctant because it would require them to change.

When you stop buying into this excuse, your business will thrive.