If you believed everything your would-be customers told you, then you’d think pricing affects consumer purchasing more than anything else in your business.
But that’s absolutely not the case. In fact, price is rarely the real reason people won’t buy.
There’s only one problem: When you ask would-be customers why they didn’t purchase, about 80 to 90% are going to say “price.” Specifically, “it costs too much.”
The other 10 to 20%? They’ll likely tell you that they didn’t think they’d have time to use your offer.
So, how do you combat the “it’s too expensive” objection?
You Need to Convince Customers of Your Offer’s Value
The truth is, if your would-be customers really wanted your offer or product, if they really understood the value, they’d purchase.
We spend crazy amounts of money on stuff we don’t actually need. $1,200 for an iPhone that’s slippery and made of glass? Yes, we do that!
When prospective customers say, “it’s too expensive,” what are they really saying? It’s too expensive … compared to what?
Your would-be customers are spending their discretionary income on iPhones and dinners and workout apps and clothes and … you name it. They have money to spend and they’re trying to decide how to spend it.
(Important caveat: we’re talking about the people who can truly afford your offer. If they’re struggling to put food on the table, that’s a different story.)
Revisit the Messaging Around Your Offer’s Value
If you think pricing affects consumer purchasing, it’s probably because you’ve heard the “it’s too expensive” objection a few too many times. When you hear that objection, the first thing to do is go back and look at your marketing and sales messages. What your prospective customers are conveying is that your offer doesn’t feel valuable enough for them.
People will pay for just about anything when they feel like it’s valuable enough—like they’re getting their money’s worth. A $500 purchase might feel “too expensive” for a little toy car, but it’s a huge deal on a brand-new BMW. It’s all about perception.
So, your first step is to look over your messages in general and make sure to truly dig into that value. What are they going to get out of your offer? What’s the big transformation?
This requires you to get at the deep benefit. Dig into the transformation—get detailed. Get at the emotions. Show them what life will be like after they purchase your product or service.
When you make your offer more valuable, you automatically decrease the “it’s too expensive” argument. Your customers understand the immense value instead of focusing on the cost. They can see all of the amazing things they’re getting for each dollar they spend.
Give Your Cost Some Context
You can also overcome the “it’s too expensive” objection by giving the price of your offer some additional context.
As I was saying earlier, $500 is expensive for a brand new toy car…but it’s a steal for a brand new BMW. Money is all relational.
For example, if someone said to you, “If you can pull together $100,000, I have a house I could sell you.” You might say, “eh, no thanks, I’m good.” But if they said, “Hey, if you can pull together $100,000, I have a brand new, 5-bedroom house I can sell you in San Francisco that’s worth $5.5M.” You’d probably find a way to get that $100,000, right? Prices don’t mean anything at all outside of context.
You could compare the cost of your offer to something comparable that’s far more expensive. For example, if you offer career training like we do, you could make the point that yes, a few hundred dollars can feel expensive. But compared to the $100,000 average cost of college—where you don’t even necessarily graduate with any actual job skills—a couple of hundred dollars is not so bad. Put it in perspective.
Your Turn!
How are you combatting the “it’s too expensive” objection? Share it in the comments below!