by Tom Reilly
“That sounds like a lot of money to spend for this product.”
“I didn’t think it would cost this much.”
“I’m not sure we want to spend that much money.”
Price objections come in different shapes and sizes but share one thing. They direct the conversation to cost. When buyers raise cost objections, they hand you the perfect rebuttal. For every cost-based objection, there’s a sibling concern—the cost of doing nothing.
Moving forward, paying the price, or investing the money offer the promise of opportunity value. Opportunity value is the potential gain that buyers achieve only by moving forward with your idea. Action has a cost. So does inaction.
The decision to do nothing is still a decision. There’s an opportunity cost for inertia. Opportunity cost is what they sacrifice by doing nothing. What opportunities do they forego by choosing not to act?
Your response should sound like, “Mr. Buyer, you’re right. There is a cost to move forward. There is no return without an investment. There’s also a cost for doing nothing. What opportunities do you miss by choosing to do nothing? What potential gain do you sacrifice with inertia?”
Buyers rarely think about the consequences of doing nothing. Missing opportunities is not top of mind for them. You job is to educate them that the greater cost may be a failure to act.