Several years ago, I went into a hardware store to buy a hammer. I got into a conversation with a salesperson who showed me a $25 hammer. Wow! Was this thing going to do the nailing for me? I complained that $25 seemed like a lot of money for a hammer. He explained that the wood was from a certain type of tree, and the steel was this and that and that it was put together in such a way as the head wouldn't come off during hammering, so there was no safety problem.

Inside I was laughing-this guy was giving me a full-blown presentation on a hammer. I continued to complain about the $25 and he continued to convince me that I couldn't live without this "first-class" hammer. Finally, I said, "Yes." Anyone who knows me will know that because he said "first-class," I now had to have it, at any price. He took my complaining about the price as a budget problem (maybe I couldn't afford it). To me, it was a value problem. (I didn't think it was worth it.)

When a customer tells you that the price is too high, you need to determine whether they are talking about budget or value. In the hardware store, I was upset about the $25 cost of a hammer. The question is whether I was saying I couldn't afford the hammer, or whether I thought it wasn't worth spending $25 for a hammer. If I couldn't afford it, the salesperson was dealing with a budget consideration; if I thought the hammer wasn't worth it, the salesperson had to overcome a concern about value.

Suppose you sell jewelry and you have a customer who is interested in a strand of pearls but objects to their high price. Your first step in handling the objection is to acknowledge and empathize with their stated objection: "I can certainly understand your concerns about the price. Things are expensive today, aren't they?" Notice the use of the word "things," and that you don't name any item specifically, especially not the merchandise under consideration. The salesperson continues:

"Is the price of this particular item too high, or is it just more than you wanted to spend today?"

If the customer's problem is that the price of the article is too high, acknowledge again that you can appreciate the customer's concern. If you gave the customer a good demonstration initially, you started with relatively lightweight FABGs (BB shots so to speak. Explaining the features, advantages and benefits of the item with a grabber is designed to gain the customer's agreement. Now it's time to bring out Big Bertha, your biggest cannon of all:

"An interesting thing about pearls is that Mother Nature controls them, even though we put in the nucleus ourselves. So we can't be sure of getting enough quality pearls for a matched strand of this size and color. It takes a great deal of time to create a strand that looks as great as these do on you; that's why they seem to be so expensive. But that's a small price to pay for something that you'll have and love for so many years to come. I think that's an important consideration, don't you?"

Observe that we offer the customer another FABG every time we uncover an objection for which lack of value is the underlying reason.

If your customer's objection is that the item costs more than they wanted to spend today, first acknowledge that you understand how the customer feels and ask:

"How much did you want to spend today?"

Note the use of the word "today," which reinforces that you are talking about now rather than later. Notice also that, until this part of the process, you have not asked the dreaded "How much?" question. You avoided asking that question when the customer first came in because you didn't want to be bound by an unrealistic price the customer may have had in mind. After all, each of us has spent more in retail stores than we originally planned to spend, so it's not unreasonable to expect the same behavior of our customers.

So, in answer to the question, "How much did you want to spend today?" the customer tells you, "About $500 less." If you can, find an alternative item that's in your customer's price range and show it. The question now is, do you give FABs to the lower-priced item or not? The answer lies in deciding which item you would really like to sell at this point. Well, unless you're a whimpering, simpering sack of Jell-o, you still want to sell the more expensive one. I know I do! Don't give up hope. Remember, all shoppers at one time or another have spent more than they planned on or more than their budget allowed. How you demonstrate the alternative can make or break your chance of maximizing the sale.

If possible, keep the more expensive item with you when you show the customer the lesser-priced article. Without doing anything to embellish the lower-priced article, just ask the customer: "How about this one?" It's likely that your customer will see the lower-priced item as a poor second. After all, you created excitement, enthusiasm and added a lot of value to the more expensive item. However, you have done nothing to enhance the second article such as:

Salesperson: What do you think of this bicycle? (showing the alternative)

Customer: It's really not as nice. I think I'm losing some speed with that one, aren't I?

Salesperson: Yes, this is more of a touring bike.

Customer: Well, I don't think I like it as much.

Salesperson: I understand. This one (returning to the first bike) is a lot faster. One of the things I forgot to tell you about this one is . . .

By not saying anything to enhance the lower-priced item, you create opportunity to add value to and close the sale on the higher-priced item. If by chance, the customer likes the less expensive item, go ahead and give them an FABG on it. You want to sell them something. Watch the customer for clues before you decide which route to take.

If the customer shows any hesitation either verbally or physically, go for making the sale on the more expensive item. Responses like, "I don't like this one as well," or "It's okay," or "This one's not bad," indicate a lack of enthusiasm by the customer to consider the alternative. Even the way they touch, hold, or look at the item can be a signal. Think of how you react when you open a gift. If you love it, your expressions and actions are completely different that from those when you're forced to act excited over something you could live without.

On the other hand, customers may show interest in the alternative by immediately picking it up or touching it. Or they may say, "Oh, this one's not bad." Even the emphasis on a particular word in their response may give you a clue as to how to proceed.

If your customer's final objection is their inability to afford either the expensive item or the less costly article, and you're reasonably certain that budget is the problem, this is the time to talk about alternate ways to pay:

Customer: "The more expensive strand is beautiful, but it's still just so much money."

Salesperson: "Well, I have an idea. We have a financing plan here that will make it pretty easy on you with monthly payments, and you can take the piece home with you now. Would you like to get started on the paperwork? I just know you're going to be happy with this one."

Use financing plans, layaway plans, anything that will make it easier on the customer, as the last resort in overcoming objections. These are terrific closes when the customer wants the item but doesn't have the cash today, or finds it less threatening to look at the higher price in terms of monthly payments rather than the total price.

A price objection is always based on one of two considerations: value or budget. It is your job is to determine whether the customer thinks the merchandise is not worth the cost, or costs more than they wanted to spend. Once you've uncovered their true objection, you can handle it and be well on your way to doing what you really want to do: closing the sale.