Buying signals come in varying sizes and weights. The most obvious of them, aside from when a customer reaches for their wallet is when they ask, “How much is it?”
Whether the sale is won or lost in this moment of truth rests on the readiness of your reply. I found myself on the customer end of an almost-buying experience last week that went south after I asked ….
“How much to mulch my yard?”
A seven-man crew toiled in a neighbor’s yard last Saturday. “FLOWER BEDS ONLY” read their hand-lettered sign. Aside from cleaning gutters, there’s no chore I like less than tending flower beds. My interest compounded each time I passed that crew while running errands.
Curiosity got the best of me on the seventh pass. I stopped and offered my buying signal, “How much to mulch a yard?” John, the man running the job, gave an all-too-typical answer: “That depends,” he said, before launching into a list of considerations, conditions, and variables. With every word he cultivated uncertainty until my need to leave reached full bloom. Nodding politely, I said, “thanks,” and left. Sale lost.
“How Much” has one answer
Correct answers advance a sale. Wrong ones detour around it. When a customer asks, “how much?” they’re on the go-ahead side of deciding to buy. So, help them go the distance: tell ‘em how much, but don’t stop there!
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