There is a cost to everything. If your business offers a premium product or service, the price question can sometimes make you a little nervous. Your price is probably always a little dearer. Perhaps you struggle to answer confidently and keep the tremors out of your voice.
Remember that the customer’s decision is not just about the price. If it was, they wouldn’t even be considering you. The customer wants the most possible value at the best possible price. If the best price for the customer equates to lower value, the wise customer will think twice before buying. After all, quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten – Benjamin Franklin (modified).
The price question is a very positive sign. Many customers ask about price only when they are interested in your valuable offering. What they’re really saying is: will the benefits be greater than the cost of the outlay?
And yes – they certainly will. As Warren Buffett famously said – ‘Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.’ All of us need to demonstrate the value of our offering to our customers – because the perceived value is the reason that a sale is on the brink of happening in the first place.
When people ask me the price question, I’ll certainly answer, once I’ve had an opportunity to understand their business needs and do a proposal.
The question I often reflect back to the customer is: what is the cost to your business of not getting more sales?
When evaluating price, we all need to consider the total lifetime customer value. Every customer we deepen our connections with, every new customer we bring on board, every customer we bring back from the competition – is extremely valuable to our business. Their annual spend, multiplied by the number of years we expect them to require our products and services, gives us the true measure of their worth – their total lifetime customer value. Not to mention the added benefits of their positive referral business.
When I think back over this last year, Magnify has worked with some very interesting companies. We’ve helped them gain clients, close deals and increase sales. Sometimes we’ve proactively been in the right place at the right time – and discovered opportunities our clients never knew existed for upselling and cross-selling, and other new business development.
Yes, there has been an outlay to gain these customer insights and opportunities. But it’s been more than made up by the new clients they’ve gained, the connections they’ve deepened, and the sales generated.
Once a project is completed – our clients can choose to just run with it. Alternatively, they can ask us to continue helping them grow their sales, now that they’re so busy dealing with the opportunities we’ve already uncovered.
So yes, there will be some cost when you outsource your sales. But you will gain far more.
It’s been fantastic to have Magnify Consulting on our side for sales. They’ve helped get us in front a very good number of new clients, which has really helped grow our business. Their flexible service options mean business development that really fits our needs. They’ve gone the extra mile to make sure everything was completely arranged, both for us and for our prospective new clients. Their work has meant further leads for us to follow up – I’d be happy to work with Magnify again in the future.
Jane Bornholdt, Founder and Director, Wrap it Up
Mary worked as a senior member of my Sales Team when I was a Regional Manager at Allied Pickfords. Mary was by far our top sales performer both in terms of attitude and results in the Wellington team. Our region received many awards from our company and Mary also took home many sales achievement awards while employed by Allied Pickfords. Her positive and enthusiastic approach to business ensures that people simply want to do business with Mary. I have no hesitation in recommending Mary for her character, ethics and business results.
David Bell, Chief Operating Officer, ECL Group