“OMG!! That’s the eighth time we have had to do that this week!”
“Do what?” said I with confusion in my voice. “Match the price on a leaf blower that my competitor has on sale.” I will never understand why some make pricing the ultimate king in business. All pricing does is enable you to win the race to the bottom. A race no one should be anxious to win.
Businesses have to come to their collective senses. Those who have followed my blog for a while know that it is NEVER about the pricing. It is the value consumers seek. Do you win ALL of the business when pricing rears its ugly head? No, but you can win the majority of them by using creativity and by adding value to your product.
If we follow the prevailing thought that everything that there is can be found cheaper somewhere else in the world, then why would anyone need you to sell them a product or service?
This week, I was witness to a sales ‘train wreck’ that I thought I would never see. Where the ‘value’ of a product was so cheapened as to make me, and I’m sure others, to actually question its true worth. We have seen it all before, but it is generally reserved for late night, or, early morning infomercials and not by what I thought were, but obviously are not, true professionals.
Every salesperson that I know, at some time or other, will have to deal with the pricing issue with a prospect. It is how you handle this particular issue that separates the professional from the nonprofessional. There is no doubt that consumers; be it for a service or hard goods, are always looking for the ‘deal.’