It’s okay to leave some things out when you’re speaking to your prospects. It’s not okay to completely make up things about your product. I mean, if you are committed to your product, mentioning what is great about it shouldn’t be so difficult that you must resort to lying. However, when offering the various types of salads that one can get with their meal, it’s not a total crime to say that the more expensive option is the most popular. People follow people. When you tell them what is most popular, whether it is a $6.50 glass of the house wine, or an $11 glass of Santa Margherita pinot grigio, they want what everyone else is getting.
At the restaurant that I work at we sell a jalapeno margarita. With that beverage, we offer our house tequila for $6.50, along with our top shelf options. Best of all, we offer the Codigo tequila, which is owned by George Strait. Codigo Anejo is $15, and Codigo Rosa is $12.50. Whenever I sell that drink, the dialogue usually sounds something like this, “For our jalapeno margarita we do use George Strait’s Codigo tequila! We have the anejo, which means it is aged so if you love a great tequila flavor, I would strongly suggest that one. It is $15 with a free floater and with great reason! I, personally, tried the Rosa. It is more of a blush, pink color, so it is the lighter of the two and it is less in price and it includes the floater as well. I love them both! Which one would you like to try today?” My pen is out, my head is down towards my writing pad, and I have sold a jalapeno margarita.
Try not to be too honest with your prospects that you downplay your product. I’ve witnessed other people selling the same drink using the Codigo tequila. Often, they put too much emphasis on the price, and they wait for their prospect’s reaction. When they sense a bad vibe from their customer, they quickly follow up with the fact that we have a house one for $6.50. We never know how dedicated our customers are to a product that we forget to mention either. Ms. Jones doesn’t care about whether you think the $40 mushroom filet is too expensive, you should let her decide what she can and can’t afford. However, if you know you can’t afford the steak, expressing how great it tastes and why it’s reasonable for it to cost as much as it does, knowing you haven’t tried it, is acceptable in the world of sales.
Dymond Sam 