Selling the Price Increase

A practical guide for successfully navigating the single greatest growth and profit improvement opportunity for B2B enterprises: price increases

The payoff for implementing price increases without losing customers is massive! Effective price increase campaigns are far more effective at boosting topline revenue and generating profits than acquiring new customers.

The problem is that price increase initiatives—whether broad-based or targeted to specific accounts—strike fear and anxiety into the hearts of sales professionals and account managers who are tasked with selling them to their customers. Approaching customers with price increases sits at the tip top of the pantheon of things salespeople hate to do because they fear that raising prices will reduce sales volume or open the door to competitors.

Yet when sold effectively, customers accept price increases, remain loyal, and often buy even more.

In Selling the Price Increase: The Ultimate B2B Field Guide for Raising Prices Without Losing Customers, celebrated sales trainer Jeb Blount reveals the strategies, tactics, techniques, and frameworks that allow you to successfully master price increase initiatives. From crafting effective price increase messages to protecting hard-won relationships, handling common objections, and making the case for the value you deliver, this comprehensive guide walks you through each step of the price increase sales process.

In each chapter, you’ll find practical exercises designed to help you master the Selling the Price Increase system. As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you'll gain greater and greater confidence in your ability to successfully engage customers in price increase conversations.

You’ll learn:

• How to navigate multiple price increase scenarios: broad-based, targeted, non-negotiable, negotiable, defending, presenting, and asking
• The eight price increase narratives and three drivers of customer price increase acceptance
• How to neutralize and get past the five big price increase fears and anxieties
• How to avoid the big mistakes that trigger resentment and drive customers into the arms of your competitors
• The 9-Box Risk-Profile Framework for targeting accounts for price increases
• A repeatable process for confidently approaching price increase conversations
• The Five-Step Price Increase Messaging Framework
• Proven frameworks for reducing resistance and handling price increase objections
• How to negotiate profitable outcomes with high-risk profile accounts
• Winning strategies for coaching and leading successful price increase initiatives

Following in the footsteps of his blockbuster bestsellers Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, Objections, Inked, and Virtual Selling, Jeb Blount's Selling the Price Increase puts the same strategies employed by his clients—a who's who of the world's most prestigious organizations—right into your hands.

Selling the Price Increase is an essential handbook for sales professionals, account managers, customer success teams, and other revenue generation leaders looking for a page-turning and insightful roadmap to navigating the essential—and nerve-wracking—world of price increases.

Preface: A Tactical Field Guide and System for Selling Price Increases xi

Foreword by Victor Antonio xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Part I Disrupt the Mindset of Fear 1

Chapter 1 Sales Professionals Hate Price Increases 3

Chapter 2 The Five Fears 11

Chapter 3 Awareness and the Origin of Fear 17

Chapter 4 Developing Emotional Self- Control 23

Chapter 5 Stop Worrying, Start Preparing 35

Part II Protect Customer Relationships 43

Chapter 6 Relationships Matter 45

Chapter 7 Triggering Resentment and Contempt 53

Chapter 8 Wait, I Don’t Even Know You! 65

Chapter 9 Price Increases When You Have All the Power 73

Chapter 10 Make Breaking Up Hard to Do 79

Part III Approaching Price Increase Conversations 89

Chapter 11 The Three Approaches to Price Increase Conversations 91

Chapter 12 Defending Price Increases: Between a Rock and a Hard Place 99

Chapter 13 The Price Increase Sales Process 117

Chapter 14 The Price Increase Risk Profile 127

Chapter 15 Planning the Price Increase Conversation 141

Chapter 16 Set the Stage 145

Part IV Making Your Case 157

Chapter 17 Message Matters 159

Chapter 18 Influencing Price Increase Acceptance 175

Chapter 19 The Eight Price Increase Narratives 183

Chapter 20 The Price Increase Because Statement 193

Chapter 21 The Formal Price Increase Business Case 203

Part V Closing, Handling Objections, and Negotiating 221

Chapter 22 Closing 223

Chapter 23 The Ledge Technique 227

Chapter 24 Four Techniques for Handling Price Increase Objections 233

Chapter 25 Negotiating the Price Increase: D.E.A.L. Framework 241

Chapter 26 Discover 247

Chapter 27 Explain 253

Chapter 28 Protect the Points 259

Chapter 29 Align and Lock 265

Part VI Leading and Coaching Price Increase Initiatives 277

Chapter 30 The Battle Begins 279

Chapter 31 Leading Price Increase Initiatives 287

Chapter 32 Managing Price Increases 293

Chapter 33 Coaching Price Increases 303

About the Author 313

Training, Workshops, and Speaking 315

Notes 317

Index 321

JEB BLOUNT is an acclaimed trainer and international bestselling author of fourteen books, including, Virtual Training, Virtual Selling,Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, People Follow You, and Inked. Through his global training organization Sales Gravy, Jeb and his team help companies of all sizes accelerate sales productivity and revenue growth fast.

Price increases are the fastest, most effective means of increasing revenue and profits. They also strike fear and anxiety into the hearts of salespeople everywhere who worry that they’ll lose customers, forfeit orders, spark conflict, and have difficulty answering the common customer objection, “Why should I pay more for the exact same thing?” Yet when sold effectively, customers accept price increases, remain loyal, and often buy even more.

In Selling the Price Increase: The Ultimate B2B Field Guide for Raising Prices Without Losing Customers, renowned sales strategist, leader, and bestselling author Jeb Blount demonstrates the strategies, techniques, and tactics you need to successfully approach customers with price increases.

From crafting effective price increase messages to protecting hard-won relationships, handling common objections, and making the case for the value you deliver, he walks you through each step of the price increase sales process. You’ll also discover the three drivers of customer acceptance and the eight powerful narratives that reduce resistance and compel even the most price-sensitive customers to accept your price increase.

In each chapter, you’ll find practical exercises designed to help you master the Selling the Price Increase system. You’ll learn:

• How to navigate multiple price increase scenarios: broad-based, targeted, non-negotiable, negotiable, defending, presenting, and asking
• How to avoid the big mistakes that cause you to lose customers
• The 9-Box Risk-Profile Framework for targeting accounts for price increases
• A repeatable process for confidently approaching price increase conversations
• Proven frameworks for handling price increase objections
• And much more . . .

As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you’ll gain greater and greater confidence in your ability to successfully engage customers in price increase conversations.

Following in the footsteps of his blockbuster bestsellers Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, Objections, Inked, and Virtual Selling, Jeb Blount’s Selling the Price Increase puts the same strategies employed by his clients—a who’s who of the world’s most prestigious organizations—right into your hands.

THE DEFINITIVE FIELD GUIDE FOR SELLING PRICE INCREASES FROM THE MASTER OF B2B SALES STRATEGY

The payoff for implementing price increases without losing customers is massive! Effective price increase campaigns are far more effective at boosting top-line revenue and generating profits than acquiring new customers.

The problem is that approaching customers with price increases sits at the tip top of the pantheon of things salespeople hate to do because they fear that raising prices will reduce sales volume or open the door to competitors.

But price increases don’t have be a sales minefield. Customers will readily accept them and keep buying more when approached the right way.

Selling the Price Increase: The Ultimate B2B Field Guide for Raising Prices Without Losing Customers is filled with concrete strategies and tactics for knowing which accounts to target, crafting effective price increase messages, making the case for the value you deliver, and handling common objections.

This comprehensive, practical, no-nonsense guide is exactly what you’ve been looking for to turn you and your team into a price increase machine. It will give you the tools and frameworks you need to reduce resistance, eliminate conflict, and confidently handle any price increase conversation without putting your accounts at risk.

Selling the Price Increase is an essential handbook for sales professionals, account managers, customer success teams, and other revenue generation leaders looking for a page-turning and insightful road map to navigating the essential—and nerve-wracking—world of price increases.