Price without Fear

In order to be able to 'value' price effectively we need to be able to understand value in our customer's terms.

In the second episode in this 'mini' series I talk about how you can begin to identify what is important - or valuable to your customers.

By providing a framework to understand what is really important to our customers we can begin to focus in on the key issues impacting their business and how we can help them improve.

The upcoming episodes will put more detail into this area so we can really get to grips with what is important to our customers and how we can ensure we deliver the outcomes and results they will value - which means we will then have a much better chance of winning deals, more often at higher prices.

In order to be able to 'value' price effectively we need to be able to understand value in our customer's terms.

This isn't necessarily that easy as value can mean different things to different people and can be very contextual and depend on the situation they are in.

What is crucial is to understand what is important to customers, in this episode I introduce a simple idea and tool to help us get started in this area.

The upcoming episodes will put more detail into this area so we can really get to grips with what is important to our customers and how we can ensure we deliver the outcomes and results they will value - which means we will then have a much better chance of winning deals, more often at higher prices.

We all fear conversations around our price/fees when we present the numbers to the prospective client or customer.

Driven by the fear of rejection, challenge or disagreement - and potentially losing the business.

We may practice overcoming price objections, how about avoiding them in the first place.

So anything that can gives us more confidence to handle these conversations more effectively will help, yes?

In this episode I'll give you one word change that can turn this stressful part of the conversation into something much more positive and enjoyable.

I suggest you practice using the phrase, frame it with the words you want and feel comfortable to you then practice your new wording until you become familiar and confident with it.

Try it and see how it goes - it could make all the difference to you winning more deals more often at higher prices.

If you've ever written a proposal or proposition for a customer and priced the proposal to the value and outcomes you get your customer then said to yourself "this is high" or "that's a lot" then talked yourself into redoing the price, then this episode is for you.

I know many people who have fallen into this margin destroying behaviour, yet it's simple to get out of.

Too often we can lower our price - on the basis the we don't want to get objections from the customer and lose the business - before we've even had the price and value conversation with them.

This is called pre-discounting and impacts your margins, self esteem and confidence.

In this episode I urge you to stop doing it and give you a couple solutions to try to avoid making this costly mistake.

We've all had customers who have, at some stage said "that's expensive" or "that's a lot".

Sometimes this is just a statement to see if we will react and drop the price, sometimes it's a genuine concern and valid challenge.

How we react to that statement will impact the price we charge that customer.

In this episode I give you some ways that you can respond to that statement and use some price negotiation tactics to move the conversation forward in a collaborative way.

Sometimes you will get a customer who is keen on negotiating or genuinely has no idea what the price of your product/service is and early on in the conversation asks you… "What's the price?" or "How much are you going to charge me?"

Of course we know that we really need to discuss value and quantifiable monetised outcomes for the customer before we get to price, that way we can position our price against the value we will deliver for the customer and be able to compare it to alternatives or reference points better.

That's not always possible.

Sometimes a customer will ask up front about Price - here are some ideas you can use or tailor to your own approach, in tackling this issue.

Having a great mindset for Pricing and Negotiating is all about...

Being courageous to ask for the prices and fees you want and deserve

Being confident to use all the tools, methods and approaches you have to help you lead the process

and

Having the conviction to hold your ground in the face of challenges or objections

Developing this type of mindset may not be easy, however the content of the podcast and our programmes are designed to build this mindset so you can win more deals, more often at higher prices.

And the great thing is, if you can develop, grow and nurture this mindset two things happen;

1. Your Price and Negotiation conversations become easier, simpler and Dre I say more fun?
2. Your customer or prospective customer will perceive you as being more credible, knowledgeable and most importantly more trustworthy. Which means they will just 'get' what you do and be much more willing to pay the prices you want - it just comes across in your behaviour.

This episode discusses how you can raise your prices without losing business our customers.

This is part 3 in the 'raising prices' mini series. 

In this episode ...

In episode 10 we'll be covering the second stage of implementing your increase, covering;

5. Preparation.

6. Customer communication and conversation.

7. Implementation and reinforcing customer value.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode discusses how you can raise your prices without losing business our customers.

This is part 2 in the 'raising prices' mini series. 

In this episode ...

In episode 9 we'll be covering the first stages of implementing your increase, covering;

1. Goals and objectives.
2. Planning and risk analysis.
3. Tactics.
4. Your price increase story

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.