Work With Me or You’ll Be Sorry

I cannot tell you the amount of times someone has elected to do business with me even though they are paying more than they would with a competitor… and felt good about it.

I don’t care what industry you are in, there is someone that offers a very similar product or service as you, but offering it at a cheaper price. What should you do to compete?

First option is clear: reduce your price. While this is the option I see most businesses will first consider, it is absolutely the wrong choice. Billionaire entrepreneur and best selling author, Grant Cardone asserts, and I wholeheartedly agree, that “price is a myth”.  It is not price that matters most, but value that our customers are after.  Grant continues that “people buy products and services that solve problems”. Listen, I know you are already thinking about that one customer that is only looking for the cheapest price, and will even sacrifice quality or dependability for it. Let them shop elsewhere!! You are not in business to beg for business, and candidly, you won’t be in business long enough to properly serve your customers if you are looking to acquire business through cheap prices.

So what is value? Your customer is looking to solve a problem in the best way, and they are willing to exchange their hard earned money for it. Your goal, Mr or Ms Entrepreneur, is to provide more value than the price you are charging. A common misconception is if you are selling a $30 product, someone will be willing to pay $30 for it. Wrong! Your customers are not looking to exchange like value (their cash) for like value (your product). They are looking to feel like their $30 purchased them MORE than $30 worth of value in your product.  

I remember many times, in multiple industries, when a potential customer would tell me that they like my product, would buy my product (or something similar), but were considering purchasing from a competitor for a cheaper price, unless I would discount mine. Without exception, I would always let them know that I would acknowledge the competitor’s price being cheaper, but quickly reminded them that our offerings were not the same. While the product was the exact same in my many cases, doing business with ME versus the competitor was where their true value was.  I, in fact, was the value-add in my offering. (More on “value-add” propositions in a future post). Did I win every negotiation? No, but I did win most.  

A word of caution… this only works if you truly deliver value at a high level in your product or service, and know it beyond a shadow of a doubt (refer to my blog post on why “The First Sale is the Most Important”)

We are in a hurry to help as many businesses as possible succeed at high levels in their business, create a wonderful working environment for their staff and clients, and build freedom for themselves and their families.  Racing against your competition to the bottom of the profit margin is not going to allow for any of these to be a reality.  

Steve Harris is COO of Gorgeous Business Solutions and a well respected sales and business coach with over 20 years of experience training, equipping and coaching small business owners, and sales and finance professionals in multiple industries.  He is most passionate about helping his clients create freedom for themselves and their families.  

For a no-obligation conversation about sales or business coaching or development Steve can be reached directly at steve@gorgeousbusinesssolutions.com.