The earlier the concession, the less the value

Posted: January 19, 2017 | Categories: Sales

When I was growing up, many of my summer vacations were spent in Wyoming visiting my relatives.  We had several visits to Yellowstone National Park, and I vividly remember seeing bears walking around and occasionally leaning on a car.  Not far away we could count on seeing a sign that said, “Do not feed the bears!”  We all know why we are not supposed to feed the bears, don’t we?  Because if we do, they won’t be satisfied with what they give them, and they will demand more.

This story is a good one to remember in selling:  The rule is:

The earlier the concession, the less value it has in closing the sale

For example, suppose I call you and want you to join my health club.  I start off the conversation by saying, “Today, I can give you 10% off!”.  Here is what this means to me:  If I can get 10% off before we even start dealing, this must only be the beginning.  I can expect more.

Now suppose instead of telling you about the discount up front, I held back and did some good selling instead.  In other words I asked questions to determine what was important to you, created a gap between your “as is” and “should be”, and presented my solution in a compelling way.  I give you the price.  You are hedging.  I now say, “If you were to place this order today, I could reduce the price by 10%.  Does that sound like something you would like to go ahead with?”  The price concession would probably have more of an effect.

One of my clients recently ran into this situation.  He gave his concession earlier, and found himself hopelessly lost in a price discussion.  The prospect kept coming back at him from every angle to get further price reductions.  We were able to devise a strategy that broke that pattern, and he was able to close the sale.

Remember:  The earlier the concession, the less value it has on closing the sale

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