Training Your Customers

Break the bonds of industry pricing!

Get compensated well for the value you provide.

In every human interaction on person is training another how to behave.

How are you training your customers?

To get a sense for what your customers are experiencing I’m going to ask you to switch hats and view the following from the buyer’s perspective. You’ve reached an agreement with the seller on what you want. The only thing left is determining the price.

The seller states his price. You counter with a lower offer. He comes down a little. You press further. He drops his price some more. What’s your inclination at this point? To try again for another concession? Of course it is. As the buyer you don’t know where the bottom is and you won’t discover it without trying repeatedly for greater concessions.

Scenario number two – again you’ve reached agreement with the seller on what you want. The seller states his price. You counter with a lower offer. He tells you the price is firm, but that there are other, less expensive, options available to you depending on what you’re willing to forego in the option you’ve chosen. What are you going to do now? Are you going to push for the price concession again? You might. Just to see whether or not the seller is serious.

Let’s assume that you offer a price somewhere between what he’s asking and your earlier counter offer. Again, the seller states that the price is firm, but you have options. What’s going through your mind now?

In all likelihood your mind shifts gears and you begin evaluating the various options and price points available to see which best fits your needs.

In the first scenario, the seller trained you that it’s okay to ask for price concessions – that he wasn’t really serious about the price he was asking. He trained you to continue to seek price concessions.

The second scenario was completely different. The seller trained you to make a choice between what you said you wanted and what you’re willing to pay. He trained you to make an informed decision.

It’s counter-intuitive, but with every transaction you’re training your customers how to behave. If you don’t like the way your customers are treating you, you need to retrain them. Let them know that you’ve reevaluated your pricing policy to enhance their satisfaction. That you don’t want to waste their time with needless negotiations and a nagging doubt about whether or not they got a fair deal. Tell them that you’ve set your prices based on the value they get and be prepared to substantiate that value, then hold firmly to your price. Your customers will enjoy a more enjoyable buying experience with you and you’ll enjoy higher prices and profit margins.

Next week we’ll discuss how to say “No” to people who aren’t a good fit, yet retain them as a referral source. In the meantime, command the price you want – you’re worth it.

For more information on how you can command higher prices for your products and services, please post your questions or comments below, send Dale an email @ dale@furtwengler.com or call him at 314-707-3771.

To see how counter-intuitive thinking can be applied to other business issues, visit Dale’s blog, The Invaluable Leader at www.furtwengler.com/theinvaluableleader/.

In every human interaction one person is training another how to behave.

How are you training your customers?

The seller states his price. You counter with a lower offer. He comes down a little. You press further. He drops his price some more. What’s your inclination at this point? To try for another concession? Of course it is. As the buyer you don’t know where the bottom is and you won’t discover it without trying repeatedly for greater concessions.

Scenario number two – again you’ve reached agreement with the seller on what you want. The seller states his price. You counter with a lower offer. He tells you the price is firm, but that there are other, less expensive options available to you depending on what you’re willing to forego in the option you’ve chosen. What are you going to do now? Are you going to push for the price concession again? You might; just to see whether or not the seller is serious.

In all likelihood your mind shifts gears and you begin evaluating the various options and price points available to see which best fits your needs.

The second scenario was completely different. The seller trained you to make a choice between what you said you wanted and what you’re willing to pay. He trained you to make an informed decision.

It’s counter-intuitive, but with every transaction you’re training your customers how to behave. If you don’t like the way your customers are treating you, retrain them.

Let them know that your new your pricing policy is designed to help them make an informed decision and enhance their satisfaction.
Tell them that you don’t want to waste their time with needless negotiations and a nagging doubt about whether or not they got a fair deal.
Tell them that you’ve set your prices based on the value they get and be prepared to substantiate that value, then hold firmly to your price.

Your customers will have a more enjoyable buying experience and you’ll enjoy higher prices and profit margins.

Break the bonds of industry pricing! Call Dale at 314-707-3771.

Tags: counter-intuitive pricing, price management, Pricing, pricing for profit, pricing for profitability, pricing management, pricing strategies, pricing strategy

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 9:30 am and is filed under Marketing, Pricing, Sales. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.