Sooner or later prospects are going to ask you about your price. Some will ask before they agree to a meeting. Some will ask during your presentation. Yet others will politely wait until you have finished speaking. No matter what questions you ask or how well you have described your services, a prospect still wants to know “How much does it cost!”
People Don’t Want to Overpay or Underpay
We DJs sometimes believe that offering the lowest price is what it takes to win a sale although this is often not the case. Think about your own buying process. Do you believe that the lowest price on a product or service equals the best offering? Of course not – and neither do your prospects. Human beings are just hard-wired to calculate how they can gain the greatest value for the lowest price.
In order to command a higher price, you need to be the “goose that laid the golden egg” by focusing on giving people value. Demonstrate that you provide the lowest cost in terms of their return on investment. How? By attaching a price to the needs you fulfill, the fears you allay, and the problems you solve.
Sometimes price is the only factor being considered. If you are trying to sell a budget bride who only cares about finding a $599 DJ no matter what, then you are joining her commodity-based business model— even when it isn’t your business model.
Differentiation is the Key to Success
More often than not, cost is a factor being weighed against many other factors. If you fail to create a differentiating and defining value for your services outside of price, you are behaving like a commodity. If you don’t want to be treated like one then you need to convince prospects that you can produce a massively great experience for them – and prove that you can deliver it through testimonials provided by past clients.
Many of your competitors are willing to behave like they are a commodity. In a prospect’s mind, their offerings and the features attached to them look exactly the same as yours, so what makes you different? What is your USP (Unique Sales Proposition)?
Buyers are generally focused on price because they are not educated to think in terms of value. To break out of the commodity trap, you need to focus on the extraordinary benefits someone will receive by booking your service. You need to build value in such a way that your fee is no longer perceived by a prospect as a cost, but rather a sound investment (no pun intended…okay, maybe a little bit).
Great sales people are excellent value creators. The more value you can create in the mind of a prospect, the bigger your sales pie will be. Now go get a really sharp knife, and carve out a nice large slice for yourself!
What do you say that creates value with a prospect?
