Sometimes when the customer says they can’t afford your price, they’re really saying something else …

Whilst the customer may have many reasons to NOT buy what you’re selling, there are three things a buyer can say to get out of any sales conversation:

“I think there might be a better solution for me than yours, so I’m going to look elsewhere.”

“I don’t like, trust, respect or believe you, so I’m not going ahead.”

“I love what you do and I can see the value BUT I just can’t afford it right now.”

Naturally, most people won’t come straight out and say either of the first two.  As a result, they will probably just use the third reason to not buy from you.

When the customer says they can’t afford your price, it’s possible that they actually can’t afford your price – either in cashflow terms or total investment terms.

However, it’s also possible they just don’t want your solution, for whatever reasons they have.  They just don’t like your product or service, they don’t feel connected with you or your business or something about their personal circumstances has changed that they haven’t shared with you.

This leaves you in the precarious position of checking to see if doing something to help them with cashflow (payment terms or similar) can close the sale.  If that doesn’t work, you’re unlikely to get their business.

Any other attempts to move them forward are likely to be perceived as pressure.

So, what’s the answer?

Buyer Safety – when the buyer feels safer with you than they do without you, at every step of the buying process, buying from you becomes the safest thing for them to do.

In my next post I’ll be sharing a model that outlines five key buyer safety decisions the customer is making as they engage with you.

In the meantime, I’d love to know how you establish buyer safety as a tangible feature of your selling process.