My 2¢ Worth

t's hot in Minnesota! How hot is it? It's hotter than that place the fire and brimstone preachers like to talk about. Temperatures have been in the upper 90s since Tuesday.

 haven't heard a forecast, but somebody was telling me 100s for the weekend. Thankfully the humidly has been fairly low. That means it's merely hot instead of roasting.

ou gotta love Minnesota, Land of 10,000 lakes, mosquitoes as big as jets and temperature ranges from the 100s down to the 40s below zero!.

Feature Article

Lowering Your Price Could Cost You a Sale

by: Tom Richard Tom Richard Marketing

For some reason, many salespeople assume that lowering the price of their product will lead to an easier sale.

Here’s the truth: You will make more sales by NOT lowering the price of your products.

Why?

There are many factors that influence a customer’s decision to buy, and price isn’t the most important. The problem is that YOU think it is. Focusing on price actually distracts your customers from what is most important to them, and diminishes their motivation for buying.

Here are five reasons why lowering your price could lead to a lost sale:

1. It makes you look like your competitors.

Do you really think that your claims of having the lowest price will make you stand out? Every other salesperson says the same thing. Everyone claims to have the lowest prices because they think it will get the customer’s attention.

Well, price is really the least effective differentiator in business. The only way to look different from your competition is to act different, and offer something that no one else can offer. A lowered price won’t cut it.

2. It distracts you from your customer.

Price does not determine the sale; your customer does. That means that your attention should be completely on them. Everything you do should help you understand and connect with your customers to discover their motivation for buying.

Customers search for a product that is the best solution to their problem. They understand that a product cannot be the lowest priced and still be the best. Making the sale requires that you find the best solution, not the cheapest.

3. It decreases the perceived value of your product.

Before every purchase, a customer considers, "Is this worth it?" The answer depends on the value of the product, not the price. If they can envision themselves using and benefiting from the product, the answer is yes and the purchase is made.

Without value, a product won’t be sold at ANY price, so don’t limit your customers to the dollar amount. Establish value by helping them imagine how useful and enjoyable your product could be in their daily lives.

4. It questions your integrity.

Customers will not buy from you if they don’t trust you; and they definitely won’t trust you if they feel that your price is dishonest. Lowering the price of your product suggests that your product is not really worth what you are asking for.

Defend the price you have set because you know that your product is worth every penny. Have confidence and enthusiasm for your own product. If you believe in what you sell, your customer will, too.

5. It leads to buyer’s remorse.

Customers want to feel confident in their purchase and know that they received the best value for their money. Lowering the price for your customer puts them in a situation where they feel haggling is necessary. They will question their purchase and wonder if they should have pushed you harder to lower the price.

Even though it seems you saved them money, they will probably feel ripped off. This will make them uncomfortable with your business and less likely to come to you in the future.

When you lower the price of your product, you are limiting your sales strategy to a dollar amount. Price becomes a dominant part of the conversation ONLY because YOU have made it one. Focus your attention and sales presentation on what really matters: the customer, the value, the uniqueness of your company and your product. When these things are put first, price will always come second.

**************

Tom Richard conducts seminars on sales and customer service topics nationwide. Tom is also the author of Smart Salespeople Don't Advertise: 10 Ways to Outsmart Your Competition With Guerilla Marketing, and publishes a free weekly ezine on selling skills titled Sales Muscle. To subscribe to this free weekly ezine go to www.tomrichard.com/subscribe

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<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript"> <!-- Begin myvar = new Date(); Month = (myvar.getMonth() + 1) Year = (myvar.getYear()) if (Month == 1) {WordMonth = "Jan";} if (Month == 2) {WordMonth = "Feb";} if (Month == 3) {WordMonth = "March";} if (Month == 4) {WordMonth = "April";} if (Month == 5) {WordMonth = "May";} if (Month == 6) {WordMonth = "June";} if (Month == 7) {WordMonth = "July";} if (Month == 8) {WordMonth = "Aug";} if (Month == 9) {WordMonth = "Sept";} if (Month == 10) {WordMonth = "Oct";} if (Month == 11) {WordMonth = "Nov";} if (Month == 12) {WordMonth = "Dec";} document.write(WordMonth+". "+myvar.getDate()+", "+Year); // End --> </script>

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Second Article

Basics of Marketing

by: Scott F. Geld Marketing Blaster, Inc.

Knowing what marketing actually is can be fundamental to any business, however small. No business can avoid marketing; without it, no one would know you existed. Of course, your actual merchandise or service is just as important, but without marketing, a brilliant idea is wasted.

To be a successful marketeer, you really have to understand the concept of marketing. Marketing is the science of making prospective customers into real purchasers! Even the best item in its class won't sell successfully if nobody is aware of it. Some items need less pushing than others, but sales of most artefacts will be boosted by the right kind of promotion. A sound method of marketing a product is to persuade potential buyers that they really must have it straightaway otherwise they'll miss out.

Where is the best place for an organization to start in order to maximize the effects of its marketing? First, get the fundamentals correct, as we are about to describe.

Before you can target anyone, you must know who they are. Understanding your potential customers is fundamental; to sell to someone you have to know what will get their focus and what will make them buy.

To understand your customers you need to think about how they think and how they function and what influences their decision to purchase something. You need to think about what they will think about your product. You need to think about how they will feel about your product and what will inspire them to buy your product.

Simply instructing someone to buy an item is not enough. A little persuasion is required. The item needs to attract the interest of the potential customer, preferably so much so that they'll make an immediate purchase. Marketing can be targeted at different sectors - male or female, young or old, etc. However, a mass market approach can often be used. The nature of your merchandise should determine the marketing strategy used.

The key to successful promotion is never to lose sight of the customers' needs, so that you can persuade them that your merchandise is just what they require.

**************

Scott F. Geld is the Director of Marketing for MarketingBlaster.com, a company specializing in affordable traffic (5 cents/visitor) and direct links for $5/link. For more information please visit: www.MarketingBlaster.com

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