“Power (and context) abhors a vacuum.”
When there’s a void in power, something or someone will step in and take over. It’s the same with context. If you don’t set the context about your offering, your price, or your position, your prospect will do it for you. If not your competitors. Frame the context. Lead the conversation. You’ll have more power. And you’ll better-serve.
“We need to give them a win”
“We just raise up the price 30% and then go and give them (the customer) a 30% off. That way they’ll go to their boss saying they got a deal. And they’ll buy” Their closing rate: 40% Reality? A product in the market that’s underpriced —and living in a discount culture. Money left on the table? A couple million euros per year. Here’s the thing: Inflating your prices to give a discount means a couple of things: You’re not talking to the ones who call the shots. You’re getting ready to take more…
Pricing is just math.
Just because it has numbers in it, it doesn’t mean it’s just math. When we follow that logic, sure, setting a price is just math. So would be diabetes. Or malnourishment. Or poverty. They all require a shift in the measurements. Yet most importantly, a shift in thinking.
Pushing you to cut down your price
Your prospect is considering someone else and is pushing you to cut down your price. It has NOTHING to do with price. It’s not a price problem. It’s a perception of what they get. They feel your price is too much for what you’re giving. So they pressure you down. Wouldn’t you do the same? Here’s the kicker. You can stand firmly and kindly. Meet them where they are. Understand what’s really going on. And think of what could make sense to get them a better deal. Sometimes it’s a kind of…
The more effort you put on…
“The more effort you put in, the more you’ll be able to charge. The more value you will create.” That’s a generalization that doesn’t really apply. Just think of this: if that were to be true, then why… Develop better technology? Make things more efficient? Solve problems more effectively? Save time? Use better what you have at hand? All of this goes against that very principle of “more effort”. Same goes with pricing. It has nothing to do with how much effort it costs you to get to a fix….
Pushy marketing
It’s going into convince mode. It’s pushing your products or services down your market’s throats. Trying really hard to show you’re worth it. To show you’re really good. To prove yourself to the world. It focuses all of your energy on you and how you can beat the competition, how to keep them from getting smart, how to get things complex. How to keep them dumb. It’s all about your brand. About you. And that’s pushy. And reeks of desperation. You can let that go. And focus on helping your…
How did you come up with the prices?
That’s a question I got this morning from a client whose prices were implemented. The answer was this: Because pricing has numbers in it, but has very little (to nothing) to do with calculations and math. A price is the maximum amount of money to pay that is accepted by the buyers in function of the value they get. If they accept it and they’re fine with it, it’s for them to decide. It has nothing to do with what the business “thinks” of it, as whether it’s “expensive” or not. Or if inflation…
Evaluating decisions
You can get to the same event / happening and evaluate in different ways. And if you try to compare them, you need to have clear which was the intend for each of them. It won’t necessarily always be the same criteria. Sometimes you do things to show force in your market. Other times to grow accounts. Some others, to show up where your competition doesn’t expect you. And others, to just be there. Each one has a specific criteria. And a potential outcome. Knowing how to differentiate them will…
When is the best time to look for money?
When you don’t need it. It lets you explore ideas, try things out and say no with no emotional load involved. Because when you do need it (money), you’ll have to say yes to everything. Your No’s will be less selective. And you’ll get more sunk costs in it. So, now might be the best time to start trying out things. Better now than later. When you might be in a position of actually needing it.
Telling the difference
Customers might not tell the difference between great work, good-enough work, and mediocre work. But they sure know a good service from a shit one.
