You might think that negotiating is about the client and photographer haggling over price. But negotiating involves much more than that.
Earlier today, I went shopping for a new suit. At a clothing store, the salesperson didn’t ask what kind of suit I wanted but instead she asked why I needed a suit – at what type of events would I be wearing the suit. [Help the customer get what they need and don’t just sell to them.]
Instead of letting me choose suits from the long racks of clothing, the salesperson selected just two suits for me. [Make it easy for the customer to decide and avoid overwhelming them.]
“I think you’d look great in either of these two. Which do you prefer?” she asked.
After I rejected one of the two suits, she presented another suit and again asked my opinion. Not once did she mention the price of the suits she was showing. [If you don’t make it about price then the customer won’t make it about price.]
The store had suits from $200 to perhaps $1,500. I did check a few price tags and noticed that all the suits I was being shown were in the $600 to $900 range. If the salesperson had started showing me the cheapest suits and I wasn’t happy, she’d have nowhere to go but up. But by starting with the mid-priced suits, she had room to move to lower (or higher) priced options if necessary. [It’s easier to have the customer move you to a lower priced choice rather than you trying to pull the customer up to a higher priced option.]
My guess as to why she didn’t show me the most expensive suits is that I entered the store wearing jeans, casual shirt, running shoes and a ski jacket. Had I been wearing a suit and leather coat, I bet she would have shown me the higher priced suits. [It’s important to know your customer.]
After I had decided on a suit and finished the fitting, the salesperson said, “With the cold weather, you’re going to need a really nice coat to protect your new wool suit from the snow and rain.” Can’t argue with that. She had a selection of coats ready to go. [Upselling should always be included. A customer can’t buy if there’s no option to buy.]
She also presented a selection of shirts, ties, belts, handkerchiefs, tie clips, socks, t-shirts, scarves, gloves, clothing hangars, suit bags, cologne, lint rollers, etc. She talked about brand names, styles and colours. Again, she never once mentioned price. [Put the focus on features and benefits, not cost.]
I had anticipated spending up to $750 but my purchase totalled $1,080. However, I felt good about spending that much since I think I got good value. What’s important is not how much money I spent but rather what I got for the money spent. [Customers do not choose based solely on price. They choose based on perceived value.]
You may call all of this “salesmanship” but it’s really a form of negotiating. The clothing salesperson was not negotiating the price but rather she was negotiating the sale. Subtle difference. If you can successfully negotiate the sale, you probably won’t have to negotiate the price.
Whether you know it or not, you continually negotiate with every customer. The negotiating starts from the first moment they contact you. And it doesn’t end until they’ve paid your invoice.
