Thoughtful Thursdays – Remember to consider the cost of change to your customer
One of the biggest barriers to making a sale is the cost of change.
Todays Thoughtful Thursdays sales thought is about being mindful of your prospects resistance to change due to the perceived costs.
Here are few objections that may indicate there is more to it than you might first think.
Consider what it will cost your potential customer to switch to your product/service.
Here are a few factors that may help you to quantify the cost of changing suppliers. Once you have this information you will have added an essential sales tool to your arsenal.
- Administrative costs of setting up
- Costs of adding additional SKU’s
- Disposal of existing inventory
- Time to train staff
- Plant costs if trials are required
- Additional raw material costs beyond your product to run trials
- Costs of sampling if required
In fact, every part of a business may be affected when taking on a new supplier. I am referring to marketing, operations and finance. It can be a decision that is not taken lightly and can often manifest itself as a common objection.
Although price is always important, thinking about the costs of changing suppliers will provide further insights to the real cost. It will enable you to talk intelligently about time to recover those costs and focus on the longer term value by dealing with your company.
On the surface it may not make sense to change. Take on the responsibility for understanding your customer’s concerns and do the research so you can provide a viable response.
It is more more than the your price that will make the difference.
Good selling,
Richard
Have a question about sales? Contact Sakanashi and Associates Inc. and I will respond.
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