Selling on Value vs. Price

Discussions Include:

• Value vs. Price
• The importance of solutions in sales
• What if price is more important?
• Value proposition - how the consumers perceive it
• The importance of pricing
• Tips on creating the right products
• Tips on how to increase the perceived value of your product
• Tips on developing products that can help to increase sales
• Keeping customers happy is key
• Inspiration: "What's your purple goldfish?"

The Hangout:

Table of Contents: 

00:00 - Introduction
00:20 - Greetings & introduction
02:06 - What's in this show.
03:08 - Value vs. Price
04:24 - Marv White: The importance of solutions in sales.
06:04 - What if price is more important?
07:22 - Value proposition - how the consumers perceive it.
12:04 - The importance of pricing. 
14:00 - Super Julie: Tips on creating the right products. 
18:37 - Zef's tips on how to increase the perceived value of your product.
22:38 - Marv's tips on developing products that can help to increase sales.
25:22 - Keeping customers happy is key.
27:21 - Inspiration: "What's Your Purple Goldfish?"
32:01 - Where to watch CCC and connect with our community.

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The Conversation:

ZEF: Our topic today focuses on the topic of "Selling on Value vs. Price," which are very important concepts between which to distinguish. Here is some food for thought:

A customer will pay a higher price for a product or service than what he/she thinks its value is, or is the product sold at a lower price than what the customer values it at?

What I'm wondering is if any of my co-hosts have ever been in a situation where price was more important than value, Marv?

MARV: Virtually all of my customer interactions begin from this paradigm. Blueprinting your value in a progressive way as you interact by voice, electronically, or face-to-face. Create a pyramid where you can take the customer up the value chain while exploring and understanding their real problem.

ZEF: What about you, Julie, do you have a sample story of a product that is sold at a lower value than what the customer perceives it at?

SUPER JULIE: Decades ago, when I worked for Bath + Bodyworks, a personal care company, we would run "3-for" deals This meant a shower gel, body lotion, and fragrance, or some kind of combination like that. We tried all kinds of combos and pricing strictures, "3 for $18" ended up being the winner. Even when we did "Buy 2 and Get 1 Free," "3 for $18" would win out. The customer was often shocked that they could get three products for $18! We had products flying off the shelves, in fact, that is how Bath + Bodyworks went from three stores to 2,400 in just five years.

What the customer didn't know is that the actual cost of the product was around $0.23, or something even less, but because it was presented in a beautiful environment with happy sales associates and pleasing packaging, the customer perceived the value to be well worth the experience.

ZEF: So, Marv, do you have a sample story of a product that is sold at a higher value than what the customer perceives it at?

MARV: When I was in the manufacturing business, we made toilet flappers that went in toilets, sexy, I know. At the time, 1.6 gallon flush toilets weren't getting the job done for many folks. You can add your own visual there... Seeing this problem, my company modified a $3.99 toilet flapper that we called the Toilet Flapper Pro, that allowed flush rates of up to 3.5 gallons per flush for a spotless flush every time. A $0.25 modification created a $7.99 product, but who can really put a value on a spotless flush.

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Meet Zef Here!

SUPER JULIE BRAUN
www.SuperInterns.com

"Super Julie Braun is the Co-founder of SuperInterns.com and she has worked with hundreds of employers and schools, and thousands of virtual interns all across the country.  As a thought leader in working virtually, Super Julie has helped companies and organization transform their “brick and mortar” thinking to “online” thinking and having the opportunity to work any time and from any place in the world with interns."

MARV WHITE
www.BizProfitPro.com

"Marv White is the Managing Partner at BizProfitPro and is an Accredited Business Inventory (ABI). He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Economics. He is a bestselling author of The Art and Science of Success. He also authored Seven Pillars to Profit: A Blueprint for Small Business Success. He has owned and sold his business and has advised numerous businesses including start-ups, sole proprietorships, and large enterprises."

Results:

ZEF'S TIPS ON HOW TO TACKLE THE CHALLENGE OF SELLING THE PERCEIVED VALUE OF A PRODUCT TOT A CLIENT:

Know that confidence is key!

• Mention the advantages you bring to the market - global exposure, customized services, good customer service, etc.
• Highlight why your product's value is worth the consideration over lower-price options - without dragging your competitors through the dirt
• CAUTION - poor language and communication relates to the brand - people void bad brands

Emphasize good customer service

• It's easier to "paint a picture" of a good service instead of a hard object or an invisible product that has "delayed gratification" such as coaching services
• Sending thank you notes/cards is a great example of good customer service - thank you cards let the client know that they are as valuable as the product itself

SUPER JULIE'S TIPS ON CREATING THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR YOUR CUSTOMER AND TO INCREASE SALES:

Oh my goodness, where do I start? 

• Be realistic! It may take you years to figure out what your customers actually want and need - and those two things are probably different from each other. In my experience, what the customers wanted was not what they needed.
  
• I'd like to say increasing sales is also being non-resistant to making sales. My mentor, Bob Proctor, told me a story about 50-60 years ago, where the shopkeepers would have a bell on the door when customers would come in. They would come out from the back room and ask if the customer needed help and actually "showed" the products. That thinking was very "resistant" to really selling, but because that is what most people did at the time, they didn't know that was limited in their thinking.

• That is very different from today - when I go shopping, the bus stop or parking lot is close and easy to navigate, the doors automatically open for me, everything I want is accessible, I put things into a cart and get whatever I want. I can even check myself out. I don't have to pull out cash or count change; I swipe my debit card and I'm ready to go on my way.
• Today, stores already have my money the minute I arrive at their door. They aren't "selling" to me, I'm already there buying. So how do you translate non-resistance into your business? By making everything as easy and simple as possible for your customers!

MARV'S TIPS ON CREATING THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR YOUR CUSTOMER AND TO INCREASE SALES:

1. Communicate the difference between price and cost using real numbers from their circumstance. Price is what the customers pay for the product or service; cost is what the investment is over the lifetime of doing business. Be willing to fire the customers or prospects that do not appreciate value. Spend your efforts on those that are worthy of your products and services. Some are wired into valuing low price over low cost and we can't help those people unless you want a commoditized relationship.

2.    Your best customers will pay the most and be the happiest. I didn't understand it at first, but the customers that          pay more are getting maximum value for your product or service and it's still a bargain for the results that they            get.

3.    Position your product or service to be superior to your competition in some way. Even a small thing, such as              faster turn, longer warranty, more choices, etc. Then find the niche that appreciates your superiority and go after        them.

Inspiration:

What's Your Purple Goldfish?

SUPER JULIE:


My friend, Stan, really identifies that extra something (the extra value) that surprises people and continues to drive sales and attracts the customers that you want.

"This book is about differentiation via added value. Flipping traditional marketing by investing your efforts towards customers with an exciting concept called marketing lagniappe. Lagniappe is a Creole word meaning "the gift" or "to give more." It's a small gift given by a merchant at the time of purchase. An extra unexpected gift or benefit, something thrown in for good measure. For today's consumer, value has become the new black. Marketing lagniappe is about putting your customers first by giving that 'little extra' in order to exceed expectations."

This except above is provided by the author, Stan Phelps, on www.purplegoldfish.com.