Have you ever heard “Is this your best price?” or “How can I get a discount?”  If you’ve not been presented with these questions before and you’re not quite prepared with how you’ll answer them, maybe you first need to consider if your prices are negotiable.  Once you’ve decided that you are willing to discount prices in certain situations, how do you decide when a discount is appropriate?

On Skip Anderson’s Selling To Consumers blog, he shares three steps used to handle these exact situations.

Step 3. Ask, “Where would our pricing need to be in order for you to move ahead with this purchase today?”

Too many salespeople automatically start discounting when a prospect asks about it. Asking this question encourages the shopper to suggest a price that they would be comfortable with. If you can meet that price, it will be very difficult for them to back out of the transaction.

This third step rings true to me because it helps you to avoid offering the customer an even lower price than they were willing to spend.  I know that I’ve often undercut myself too much just to make a sale.  Read How To Handle “Can You Do Better On Your Price?” to see the first two steps involved in this important decision making process.