High Price CAN be a Competitive Advantage!

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  kmw807/08/08 Report as spam
  1

  Need Pointers

  This scenario is much like what a colleague of mine encounters all the time. I keep telling him to not worry about the literal value (2 hours of time is $200 so that is the upcharge for the extra tangibles) but rather what is the most he can garner from the deal and still win it.
  
  Outside of the salesman wearing his best and mentioning value points (as you said, the additional quality check), what are the other elements that assist in reinforcing that value for the higher price? Meaning - does collateral, website presence, ties to other prestigious people in that industry, webinars, etc. support this positioning of the service or product as well, and thereby help the sale?
  
  Or is this solely the ability of the sales person to make this happen, regardless of any other items surrounding the company (portfolio pieces, name dropping, etc.)?
  
  If the answer is the salesman's ability alone, I would be a happy camper since sometimes the other intangibles surrounding the sale/company may or may not be there.

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  Bob Wileman07/08/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: High Price CAN be a Competitive Advantage!

  I find this subject very relevant and one I battle with all the time. So thanks for airing it and I hope to read more angles on this. So much of what we do in selling is down to confidence rather than technique, and your debate adds confidence and knowledge of how to create value in the eyes of the buyer, for those who are the front line practitioners

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  ndlicht107/08/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: High Price CAN be a Competitive Advantage!

  While buying the dead cat and the reasons for doing so are valid because its what the customer perceives as worth paying for and their reasons for doing so is valid to them, its not typical.
  
  What is typical however is the strength of value selling as the critical process for getting any solid sale. Value is a perception, not a fact, Its the prospect's perception, not your pre-judged perception that matters in making a sale.
  
  Value is an individual concept and no two people will see the same value from the same proposition. If we sell a higher priced solution and we can get its value accepted, and our product delivers exactly what was promissed, then its clearly an ethical selling process and result.
  
  Its absolutely necessary that you get under the hood of your prospect's value defining basics and pull them out. Next, its essential that you use the features and benefits to address that value. The value must be accepted by the prospect, not the cost as outweighing the associated cost. Its the understanding of where you client "hurts", what they will spend to fix the issue, or "absolutely needs" that drive the prospect that will yield a sale. Its the value based flow of your sale the becomes the path to a PO.
  
  Now about discounting - that undervalues your credibility because the prospect wonders why your best price was not the first price. Do not discount to get the sale.
  
  If you can not be a value based sales person, leave the profession and go into something else. Competition is not in your blood nor is the love of the persuasive process that yields a good sale.
  
  Neil licht, Answers ndlicht@verizon.net

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/08/08 Report as spam
  4

  You sure?

  Quote: While buying the dead cat and the reasons for doing so are valid because its what the customer perceives as worth paying for and their reasons for doing so is valid to them, its not typical.
  
  Unless you're hiring McKinsey and Company.

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  Peter Dilger07/09/08 Report as spam
  5

  Misinterpretation

  I think you have misinterpreted my argument - I do not condemn high pricing and in fact I am in the high quartile in terms of pricing when compared to my competitors but I believe that I am offering value for money.
  
  If I am offering additional services as in your case study or I can differentiate my product or service I believe that i can and should be reflecting that value in the pricing structure.
  
  The point I made was that if the sales person does not believe that it justifies the price and that they themselves feel it is overpriced then they will have difficulty in being convincing.
  
  If they are deliberately presenting the product as doing more than it actually does to justify the high price then they are in fact lying and conning the buyer
  
  In one reply to the thread it was implied that the saleperson should tell them it "has a secret ingredient" when in fact it does not that is lying - its also insulting the buyers intelligence - I cant tell you what it is its a secret trust me I am a saleman
  
  I ended the contribution with "So it comes down to - is it a tough sale because its a high priced item? or is it truly not worth the money?"
  The art of the professional sales person is to make the tough sales but not to lie or con the buyer

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/09/08 Report as spam
  6

  Belief and Sales

  I see your point, but you are mistaken if you think that you can con somebody if you don't believe in your product. Turns out that the way that con-men sell is that they believe 100 percent in the reality of the con while they're running it.
  
  As Professor Harold Hill says in the key scene in "The Music Man": I always believe there's a band, kid."
  
  Frankly, I don't think anybody can consistently sell something in which they don't believe. So you're right there. However, I also think that people can pretty much believe anything they want if it's convenient to do so. So differentiating by "do you believe it's worth the value" isn't all that useful.

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  jboyd@...07/09/08 Report as spam
  7

  Brilliant Response

  While Mr. Dilger feels that you misunderstood his argument, your response was, nonetheless, a near brilliant restatement of how to sell value. I am making this required reading for our sales staff.