How do you view your guests?
Jeffrey Phillips at Thinking Faster blog has a post of such simplicity, such clarity, that…well of course people will dismiss it. He has this crazy idea that you should just talk to your customers. Instead of theorizing about what a sample customer might want….ask ‘em or give ‘em your product and see what they like or don’t like. Or, he gets way over the top on this idea, talk to a real, live, customer.
Tongue firmly removed from my cheek and sarcasm turned off, it’s a great post about How Do You View Your Customers? Nameless voids, stereotypical caricatures, victims who need you? Or are they real people and you know that because you talk with them, real person to real person?
Speaking directly with our customers, picking up the phone and calling customers, old ones and new ones and ex-ones, is one of the best projects I undertake regularly. There’s nothing more powerful than calling a customer and asking are you happy or unhappy with our service, what more can we do, would you like my cell phone number in case you think of something or in the event we should drop the ball, would you recommend us, etc, etc.
Yes, it’s time-consuming. I have to be very alert not to segue into the thinking of well, I’ve got ‘mportant work to get done…I don’t have time to call customers. Ok. Maybe a report needs to get done today. That’s an urgent/urgent project. But the most important activity I have every day is talking with everyone in the company, formally and informally. And right there, beside and hand-in-hand with that is talking with customers. Directly. Me, one2one.
Source: http://life.ducttapemarketing.com/2006/08/how_do_you_view.html
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Here are nine novel tactics to help you sway prospective customers who think your prices are too high
After our RV broke down for the fourth time in the first two days of our recent vacation, my husband and I dragged ourselves into another repair shop. The repair clerk began his spiel about how much the problem would cost to fix—a lot—and how long it would take—not quick. Hoping for some mercy, we recounted the highlights of what we had already been through. His answer made me laugh: “Oh, then you’re already softened up.”
Wow—I’d found a new tactic to overcome price objection: humor. Since most of us have customers who tell us, “Your price is too high,” this is an important topic. Our repair man’s response worked because it was funny, real, and put his pricing into perspective relative to our recent repair-buying experiences.
Here are eight more strategies from my files that other businesses have used to support higher prices and some questions to consider in developing your own tactics. The benefit of being better at overcoming price objection is that you can increase your sales results without any extra selling effort.
1. Try Your Luck. Alan Perry, a jeweler in Wilmington, N.C., offers a money-back guarantee on diamond rings if it rains at least an inch on the couple’s wedding day and the rings are purchased at least 100 days before the wedding. This has a lottery aspect to it, but you can’t argue with results—Perry reports sales have quadrupled since he started the program. I read about Perry in Glamour magazine.
Is there an attention-grabbing money-back guarantee you could offer?
2. The Gilded Edge. Here’s an example of a great strategy I found in the Los Angeles Times: Twelve years ago, Los Angeles gas station owner Paul Moghadan spent an extra $5,000 remodeling the station’s unisex bathroom with a chandelier, art, floral arrangements, an Italianate slate floor, and gold-plated water fixtures. Moghadan has customers who make a special stop to use his facilities—but first, they have to buy some gasoline. The bathroom door sign reads, “Restroom for gas customers only.”
What benefit could you offer that’s unique and outrageous? Perhaps exquisite gift wrap or an invitation for all your customers to a behind-the-scenes tour of your local zoo. Think Las Vegas-style big.
3. Print It Up. Pricetag Pro sells software to retailers to use to produce very descriptive, standardized product information tags. This helps customers compare various offerings easily and keeps the sales momentum rolling. Without this information, salespeople often have to leave the sales floor and go look up the data—or, worse yet, call the customer back later. As Chris McGinnis of Wayside Furniture, a Pricetag Pro customer, says, “If [customers] stay here in the store, closing the sale is 100% easier.”
When I met the president of Pricetag Pro, Mike Kneeland, he told me that customers are far less likely to negotiate prices when they see professionally printed price tags rather than handwritten ones.
How could you offer more printed information so your customers don’t shop elsewhere? Bear in mind it must be presented in a way that is easy to understand and doesn’t overwhelm your customers.
4. Increase the Options. Paccar makes Kenworth and Peterbilt big-rig trucks, which cost up to 10% more than rivals. But because of their thousands of options and tremendous focus on quality, they’re the leader in their industry (see BusinessWeek.com, 1/30/06, “Paccar: Built for the Long Haul”). Herbert Schmidt of Contract Freighters, a customer for 20 years, says when he factors in reliability, trade-in value, and the plush interiors that attract better drivers, the premium price is worth it.
On a significantly smaller scale, most retailers sell a small bag of traditional M&M’s candy for less than a buck. However, if you want four 8-oz. bags of custom-printed M&M’s in one or two colors, the candy company sells them online for $38.
How can you offer better quality and customization in areas where your customer would be willing to compensate you? Perhaps you could offer custom colors, more choices of manual languages, special training, or personalized products. You might also implement a quality program.
5. Trim It Down. I’ve discovered that if your customer can’t afford your price, find a way to sell them less benefits for less money. Perhaps you could sell them a lower starting quantity or a shorter warranty period.
How can you scale back your offering so more people can afford it but you maintain your profit margins?
6. Sales Anesthetic. Borsheim’s, a high-end jewelry store in Omaha, has a Ladies’ Night in early December when women can make out their wish lists. A week later is Men’s Night, with free pizza and beer and big-screen TVs showing sports and movies. The male shoppers come in, ask for their significant other’s list, and make their purchases. In an Associated Press article I read, Mike Galaska, a customer from Bellevue, Neb., says, “Whatever [the saleslady] brings, I’m going to buy.”
How can you make it less painful for your customers to buy from you?
7. Productivity Perk. The Grill, one of the restaurants I’ve patronized that’s favored by the business crowd in Reno, Nev., offers attractive writing tablets on each lunch table. Sure, the restaurant has its name and contact information on them, but there’s plenty of white space for customers to take notes, make sketches, or brainstorm.
How can you help your customers be more productive while they’re buying from you?
8. Educate Your Buyer. In another Associated Press story, I learned that Cargill, the large U.S. meat-packing company, found that its younger customers frequently didn’t know how to cook the tougher, less popular cuts of beef. Since it needs to sell all the parts of the cow, the outfit put instruction labels on packages and offered online advice and promotions.
How can you help your customers use all of your products more easily and happily?
I hope these strategies and questions have given you some great ideas on how to overcome your customers’ price objections. If you use one I haven’t mentioned, please share it with readers in the comment box below. Happy selling!
Nichols is a sales speaker, trainer, and consultant based in Reno, Nev. She welcomes your questions and comments. Visit her Web site at savvyselling.com
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Labor-starved restaurant industry turns to automation for help
Dallas Morning News: Today, there’s enough restaurant equipment on the market or awaiting patent to take a customer’s order and payment and cook and package the food – all with little or no human labor.
“You’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of integrating automation into the restaurant operations,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the National Restaurant Association.
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Background Checks Get Easier Still!
The Internet has made background checks inexpensive for restaurant operators. They range from $8 to $120 In other words, no fast-casual operation is too small to ignore doing background checks on new hires.
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Bonehead Play of the Year!
RadioShack lays off employees via e-mail
This is an incredibly shameful way to treat your employees.
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