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Article Check - The Best Stuff vs. The Right Stuff: What Quality Has to Do With Getting Full Price, Rate or Fee
When I started my career as a freelance translator, the most difficult aspect was finding work.I didn't have a solid network of clients and building that foundation was sometimes very disheartening. However, finding work is becoming easier and easier thanks to technology, and especially the Internet.The Internet has enabled all kinds of new communication tools that are both convenient and cheap. No more having to flip through the phone book calling potential clients. Now you can send emails to people needing your services. No more taking an ad out in the Yellow Pages. Now you can have your own website promoting your services to a larger audience for a lot cheaper.So, what is the best way freelance translators can used this technology to find work and build their network of clients? Most tra
The Final Word
As a salesperson, you MUST differentiate your company’s product and services from your competitor’s some how, some way. That is what selling is all about. Otherwise, a computer could answer the phone, direct the customer to a price quote on the web, and all orders could be filled digitally as well.
Think about the last time a prospect told you they could get the same product or service at a lower price. Was it really the exact same thing? What were / are the differences between your
Lots of changes happen over the course of a year. Make sure that your Web site, brochures, business cards and other representations of your business reflect the changes you've experienced. This is a good time to make sure that the information you put out to customers is accurate.Is your contact information correct? Or, do you have a new address, phone number or area code, e mail address, Web site, or other contact method?Did you meet any milestones? If you have been in business for 10 years, or achieved over $1 million in revenues, or signed your 100th (or 1000th) client, or hit another major goal you might want to mention it in your sales materials.Did you receive any awards or professional designations? Add them to your bio. Show awards on your web site and in brochures. Add professional
“But I Can’t Sell on Quality…Ours Aren’t Really the Best on the Market.”
Most salespeople believe that quality means “best.” But quality does not really mean best. Quality means conformance to standards and expectations—your prospect’s standards and expectations. Quality means the right stuff—not the best stuff. Quality is the correct stuff for your prospect’s requirements and needs, not the best stuff made.
For example, what is a quality tire for your car? The only way to answer that question is to ask another question or a series of questions: What are you going to use the car for? Are you going to race it? Or drive to work in the snow? Go out and buy the best racing slicks you can get, put them on your power-traction wheels, and see how fast you can accelerate in six inches of snow. Or put racing slicks on your front wheels and see how fast you can stop on wet pavement, going downhill. You might say that you bought the “best tires money could buy,” but you’ll be disappointed in their performance under those conditions.
Avoiding the “Your Price Is Too High” Objection
If you want to avoid the “your price is too high,” conversation with prospects, you’d better have “the right stuff.” Selling certainly includes telling your prospects that your offering is the correct product (and why it’s the right stuff) for them. But if your offering is not the right stuff — if you’re selling high quality walnut wood and your customer only needs cheap plywood, for example — the only way you’ll get your customer to buy the wrong stuff is to cut your price. If they’re building fine furniture, they might buy your walnut. But if they’re putting in subflooring, they won’t: They don’t need it, don’t want it, and can’t afford it. The only way you’ll sell them high quality walnut for subflooring is to cut your price.
If you don’t have the right stuff for your customer – the quality of products or services that conform to his or her standards and expectations –you have a problem. You will never get full price, rate or fee for products or services if you try to sell your prospect the wrong stuff for the specific application he or she needs it for…you’ll be selling high quality walnut at the price of plywood!
“But I Sell a Commodity — and People Buy Commodities Solely on Price”
Many salespeople feel that they’re in a commodity business, and they believe because of that, they absolutely must sell on price. But nothing is further from the truth. Selling a commodity doesn’t mean that you automatically must sell it on price.
A commodity, by definition, is any item that cannot be easily distinguished from others in the marketplace – something that is in direct competition with a large number of other extremely similar products or services. For example, suppose we have two water glasses for sale that are identical in terms of size, shape, appearance, etc. If we tell you one sells for two pennies and the other sells for one penny (and you’re buying water glasses – not wine glasses), which one are you going to buy? You’re going to buy the one-penny glass, of course, because all other things being equal, people buy on price, right?
But that’s just not true. Other things are seldom, if ever, really equal. What if you don’t like the salesperson who is selling you the glass? What if the glass won’t be shipped to you until next month? What if the vendor only has 8 glasses, and you need 12?
It is the salesperson’s job to make sure the customer knows: (1) that other things are not equal, and (2) the he or she should buy the salesperson’s (higher priced) commodity item because it’s actually a better deal. And it’s a better deal because the service is better, the delivery is better, the salesperson him/herself is better, and so on. The product or service itself may be identical to others in the marketplace, but all the things involved in getting the product or service to customer differentiate one vendor from all the others.
There is ample evidence that even when the product is equal to another—identical product—people don’t always buy on price. Think of your neighborhood convenience store. Typically, just about every item you’ll find in a convenience store is more expensive than it is in a grocery store. The very fact that convenience stores exist proves that people will pay more for the exact same product (as long as there is some valuable differentiation – in this case, convenience). Milk is sometimes as much as $1.50 more a gallon at a convenience store. But If you get a craving for some cookies in the cupboard at 11:00 at night, but you don’t have any milk, chances are very good that instead of driving all the way to your grocery store, you’re just going to run up to the convenience store, pay more for the milk and get home so you can have cookies and milk while you watch Leno.
The Final Word
As a salesperson, you MUST differentiate your company’s product and services from your competitor’s some how, some way. That is what selling is all about. Otherwise, a computer could answer the phone, direct the customer to a price quote on the web, and all orders could be filled digitally as well.
Think about the last time a prospect told you they could get the same product or service at a lower price. Was it really the exact same thing? What were / are the differences between your p
Probably the most asked question about making money online is "What should I sell?" You can sell almost anything online, although if you desire to earn a comfortable income or even an astonishing one you will need to first tap into peoples desires before they are exploited. Choosing a product without actually knowing if there is a market for it is the biggest mistake people make when starting a home business. Researching for unexploited niche markets is the first step for those who truly want to make money online. Doing this research is much easier than it seems, it can be as easy as going to news groups, bulletin boards or blogging sites. Look for the most popular topics. EBay and similar online stores can also be good places to look for the hottest markets.Where do you find Products that Make Money?
Avoiding the “Your Price Is Too High” Objection
If you want to avoid the “your price is too high,” conversation with prospects, you’d better have “the right stuff.” Selling certainly includes telling your prospects that your offering is the correct product (and why it’s the right stuff) for them. But if your offering is not the right stuff — if you’re selling high quality walnut wood and your customer only needs cheap plywood, for example — the only way you’ll get your customer to buy the wrong stuff is to cut your price. If they’re building fine furniture, they might buy your walnut. But if they’re putting in subflooring, they won’t: They don’t need it, don’t want it, and can’t afford it. The only way you’ll sell them high quality walnut for subflooring is to cut your price.
If you don’t have the right stuff for your customer – the quality of products or services that conform to his or her standards and expectations –you have a problem. You will never get full price, rate or fee for products or services if you try to sell your prospect the wrong stuff for the specific application he or she needs it for…you’ll be selling high quality walnut at the price of plywood!
“But I Sell a Commodity — and People Buy Commodities Solely on Price”
Many salespeople feel that they’re in a commodity business, and they believe because of that, they absolutely must sell on price. But nothing is further from the truth. Selling a commodity doesn’t mean that you automatically must sell it on price.
A commodity, by definition, is any item that cannot be easily distinguished from others in the marketplace – something that is in direct competition with a large number of other extremely similar products or services. For example, suppose we have two water glasses for sale that are identical in terms of size, shape, appearance, etc. If we tell you one sells for two pennies and the other sells for one penny (and you’re buying water glasses – not wine glasses), which one are you going to buy? You’re going to buy the one-penny glass, of course, because all other things being equal, people buy on price, right?
But that’s just not true. Other things are seldom, if ever, really equal. What if you don’t like the salesperson who is selling you the glass? What if the glass won’t be shipped to you until next month? What if the vendor only has 8 glasses, and you need 12?
It is the salesperson’s job to make sure the customer knows: (1) that other things are not equal, and (2) the he or she should buy the salesperson’s (higher priced) commodity item because it’s actually a better deal. And it’s a better deal because the service is better, the delivery is better, the salesperson him/herself is better, and so on. The product or service itself may be identical to others in the marketplace, but all the things involved in getting the product or service to customer differentiate one vendor from all the others.
There is ample evidence that even when the product is equal to another—identical product—people don’t always buy on price. Think of your neighborhood convenience store. Typically, just about every item you’ll find in a convenience store is more expensive than it is in a grocery store. The very fact that convenience stores exist proves that people will pay more for the exact same product (as long as there is some valuable differentiation – in this case, convenience). Milk is sometimes as much as $1.50 more a gallon at a convenience store. But If you get a craving for some cookies in the cupboard at 11:00 at night, but you don’t have any milk, chances are very good that instead of driving all the way to your grocery store, you’re just going to run up to the convenience store, pay more for the milk and get home so you can have cookies and milk while you watch Leno.
The Final Word
As a salesperson, you MUST differentiate your company’s product and services from your competitor’s some how, some way. That is what selling is all about. Otherwise, a computer could answer the phone, direct the customer to a price quote on the web, and all orders could be filled digitally as well.
Think about the last time a prospect told you they could get the same product or service at a lower price. Was it really the exact same thing? What were / are the differences between your
You’ve heard it said a thousand times – “If you want the job done right, do it yourself.” Well, maybe that is true in your area of expertise, but did you get a degree in English? Do you have 20 years of experience in writing marketing and promotional materials? Do you know how to write aggressive, first person material? Can you look objectively at your accomplishments and know how to present them so that the reader says “Wow!”? Probably not.Most folks try to prepare their own resume – and most are pretty good at putting down their functions and tasks. But most people don’t know how to make their skills jump off the page. That is why a professional writer who is objective about who you are and what you are about should write your resume for you.A professional resume writer knows all the righ
“But I Sell a Commodity — and People Buy Commodities Solely on Price”
Many salespeople feel that they’re in a commodity business, and they believe because of that, they absolutely must sell on price. But nothing is further from the truth. Selling a commodity doesn’t mean that you automatically must sell it on price.
A commodity, by definition, is any item that cannot be easily distinguished from others in the marketplace – something that is in direct competition with a large number of other extremely similar products or services. For example, suppose we have two water glasses for sale that are identical in terms of size, shape, appearance, etc. If we tell you one sells for two pennies and the other sells for one penny (and you’re buying water glasses – not wine glasses), which one are you going to buy? You’re going to buy the one-penny glass, of course, because all other things being equal, people buy on price, right?
But that’s just not true. Other things are seldom, if ever, really equal. What if you don’t like the salesperson who is selling you the glass? What if the glass won’t be shipped to you until next month? What if the vendor only has 8 glasses, and you need 12?
It is the salesperson’s job to make sure the customer knows: (1) that other things are not equal, and (2) the he or she should buy the salesperson’s (higher priced) commodity item because it’s actually a better deal. And it’s a better deal because the service is better, the delivery is better, the salesperson him/herself is better, and so on. The product or service itself may be identical to others in the marketplace, but all the things involved in getting the product or service to customer differentiate one vendor from all the others.
There is ample evidence that even when the product is equal to another—identical product—people don’t always buy on price. Think of your neighborhood convenience store. Typically, just about every item you’ll find in a convenience store is more expensive than it is in a grocery store. The very fact that convenience stores exist proves that people will pay more for the exact same product (as long as there is some valuable differentiation – in this case, convenience). Milk is sometimes as much as $1.50 more a gallon at a convenience store. But If you get a craving for some cookies in the cupboard at 11:00 at night, but you don’t have any milk, chances are very good that instead of driving all the way to your grocery store, you’re just going to run up to the convenience store, pay more for the milk and get home so you can have cookies and milk while you watch Leno.
The Final Word
As a salesperson, you MUST differentiate your company’s product and services from your competitor’s some how, some way. That is what selling is all about. Otherwise, a computer could answer the phone, direct the customer to a price quote on the web, and all orders could be filled digitally as well.
Think about the last time a prospect told you they could get the same product or service at a lower price. Was it really the exact same thing? What were / are the differences between your
When a disaster strikes—whether it be a hurricane, earthquake, flood, terrorist attack, or some other devastating event—many businesses are eager to volunteer and assist those in need. They want to help rebuild the damaged homes and businesses, and they often donate the necessary materials and manpower to do so. Unfortunately, the resources that are brought in on a volunteer and donation basis typically run out much sooner than expected. And very often, those businesses who gladly gave their time and resources to those in need feel guilty charging for additional services, so they pack up and leave the area, proud of their good deed, yet leaving those in the disaster area with few recovery options.A great example of this is what happened in Port Charlotte, Florida after hurricane Charley. Initially after
But that’s just not true. Other things are seldom, if ever, really equal. What if you don’t like the salesperson who is selling you the glass? What if the glass won’t be shipped to you until next month? What if the vendor only has 8 glasses, and you need 12?
It is the salesperson’s job to make sure the customer knows: (1) that other things are not equal, and (2) the he or she should buy the salesperson’s (higher priced) commodity item because it’s actually a better deal. And it’s a better deal because the service is better, the delivery is better, the salesperson him/herself is better, and so on. The product or service itself may be identical to others in the marketplace, but all the things involved in getting the product or service to customer differentiate one vendor from all the others.
There is ample evidence that even when the product is equal to another—identical product—people don’t always buy on price. Think of your neighborhood convenience store. Typically, just about every item you’ll find in a convenience store is more expensive than it is in a grocery store. The very fact that convenience stores exist proves that people will pay more for the exact same product (as long as there is some valuable differentiation – in this case, convenience). Milk is sometimes as much as $1.50 more a gallon at a convenience store. But If you get a craving for some cookies in the cupboard at 11:00 at night, but you don’t have any milk, chances are very good that instead of driving all the way to your grocery store, you’re just going to run up to the convenience store, pay more for the milk and get home so you can have cookies and milk while you watch Leno.
The Final Word
As a salesperson, you MUST differentiate your company’s product and services from your competitor’s some how, some way. That is what selling is all about. Otherwise, a computer could answer the phone, direct the customer to a price quote on the web, and all orders could be filled digitally as well.
Think about the last time a prospect told you they could get the same product or service at a lower price. Was it really the exact same thing? What were / are the differences between your
Lets begin by talking about leverage. What do I mean by leverage?In it's most basic application a lever allows you to lift or move a heavy object with a lesser amount of energy. For instance placing a long stick under a rock in order to move it.But how does leverage apply to business? Can you place a stick under your income statement to boost up your net income?The answer is yes.There are many ways you can use leverage in your business to increase the results you are achieving. The term leverage is often used in reference to the financing of a business. Getting in with little or nothing down using someone elses money is a form a leverage.THE STRONGEST LEVERMarketing is arguably the most powerful business lever of them all.Why?Because marketing has nea
The Final Word
As a salesperson, you MUST differentiate your company’s product and services from your competitor’s some how, some way. That is what selling is all about. Otherwise, a computer could answer the phone, direct the customer to a price quote on the web, and all orders could be filled digitally as well.
Think about the last time a prospect told you they could get the same product or service at a lower price. Was it really the exact same thing? What were / are the differences between your product and the other guys? The way you deliver it? The service you offer?
The facts are, other things are never equal—and even if the product or service is identical to another, prospects rarely buy only on price. Remember: consumers and corporate buyers say they do because they’re trying to get you to cut your price. But their behavior belies their words!
Your goal with every prospect should be to find out what his or her standards and expectations are – and which of your products or services can best meet them. That way, you’ll get the price, rate or fee you ask for, and you’ll have customers who perceive you as a high-quality salesperson.
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