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 At
The Watercooler
Increase Your Price (And Profits) With This Powerful
Marketing Strategy
As a marketing consultant, Brandon Roe has worked with many
different industries from pure- service B2C to hard-core industrial B2B.
He says, "In every conversation, the discussion of price almost
always comes up." He continues, "And I'm often amazed at how
little people feel they are worth."
"The truth is, most people tend to completely underestimate
themselves - how much their time is worth and how much value they deliver
to the customers. It seems that the majority of entrepreneurs, small
business owners and sales pros don't truly understand "price
flexibility".
"The great marketing expert, Dan Kennedy, once wrote,
"There is no restriction on what people will pay; there is only
self-imposed limits, both psychological and practical in nature. It is
absolute truth that we set our own prices, and more often than not, set
them lower than necessary. Most people under-value themselves, their
services, their products, poorly package and present those things, and
underestimate what the market will pay."
"It is vital to grasp that we set our own prices. As
[success trainer] Foster Hibbard taught, teaspoon, pail, or tanker truck,
the ocean doesn't care. You choose." However, it's important to note
that if you are going to charge a premium price, you need to set up a few
important structures in your business first."
Takeaway Selling
"By far my favourite price-bumping strategy, Takeaway
Selling works on the basic economic principle of supply and demand - the
less the perceived supply there is for you and your services, assuming
demand stays constant, your price automatically rises.
On a fundamental level, people tend to want what they can't
have. Perversity of human nature = Very useful marketing strategy. Here
are some useful tips on how to create more demand while limiting your
perceived supply."
To Limit Supply
"Don't pick up the phone when someone calls. This is
especially true if you are the "expert" in your business. If
you do want to answer the phone live, have some sort of assistant on the
front end to do "the screening".
Limit your use of instant communication, except to people on
a VIP list. The more accessible you are, the more people will assume you
aren't all that busy. (This is also a great way to increase your
productivity, by the way). Don't personally respond to prospects quickly.
It tells them that you're not busy. Not only that, but if you act quickly
to a prospect's demands, you're setting a dangerous standard that you may
not always be able to live up to. Eventually, you will get too busy to be
able to get back quickly and as soon as that happens, you end up with an
annoyed customer (i.e. a potentially lost customer).
Now, that said, there are certain cases where it's very
valuable to have someone available to answer your phones. In that case,
hire an assistant or utilize a third party answering service to help you
out. Be legitimately busy. Somewhat of a common sense one, but your
"business factor" tends to subconsciously communicate itself to
potential customers, somewhat akin to a salesperson "needing the get
that sale" syndrome."
To Increase Demand
"Use marketing systems. The more you implement, the
better this will work. As you generate more leads, you'll be able to
start being picky about who you take as customers. If you can afford to
be picky, the "want what they can't have" will kick in and more
people will be clamouring to buy from you. Become known as an expert in
your particular niche of the market. Publish books and articles, become
affiliated in some way with industry leaders, start speaking at events
and/or start your own seminar.
Use "hoops". When people want to communicate with
you, make them jump through a few hoops before they can buy from you.
This can be something as simple as asking them to review your web site,
fill out an information form, or go through an interview process. Not
only does this give you valuable information to help serve the client
better, but your leads will get emotionally involved in your processes.
After all, they will have invested some time into your process and don't
want to waste that!"
There are a number of other powerful price- bumping strategies
and techniques, and Brandon will share three more highly-effective,
easy-to-implement strategies in upcoming issue of IPBC's Topics and Tips.
Brandon Roe is a highly-paid consultant that specializes in
helping small and medium-size business owners get more bang for their
marketing buck, especially in difficult economic times. Visit his web
site to receive a free special report entitled, "How To Double Your
Profits In 90 Days or Less." It's available at www.brandonroe.com.
"A good reputation is measured by how much you can
improve the lives of others; customers, employees, community."
George Eastman
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