The Price is the Most Important Factor
in Most Sales. Really?
by Molly Gordon, MCC

Here's a letter from a woman who is neither an artist nor afraid of selling. As you read, observe your reactions.

If you are in business (or in a position where you need to sell), pay particular attention to where you see similarities and differences between your situation and Caroline's. For example, you might have a thought like:

"That might apply to Hondas, but it doesn't apply to massage."

Or -- and this applies whether you yourself need to sell or not -- you might observe a thought like this:

"Everyone knows that car dealers are just out for what they can get."

Whatever your reactions to Caroline's feedback, notice whether they bring you peace or stress. If stress, download a Self Facilitation Worksheet and use it to do The Work of Byron Katie.

The Work is always and only a tool for finding truth. When you question your stressful thoughts about selling and go in for the love of truth, you find your own honest basis for selling -- or not selling. That frees you (and your customers) from the unspoken expectations and fears that turn selling into manipulation.

Now, for Caroline's letter:

Dear Molly:

Just read your article on selling and price setting . As an automotive retailer (yes, I sell Hondas in the south!) I can tell you this:

(1) Despite the highly competitive nature of my business, selling on price does not sell cars, contrary to what people may think. You need to sell value in the product first.

(2) The people on whom you make the most, love you the most and are the easiest to deal with.

(3) The people on whom you make the least will never be happy, give you poor surveys and be a pain in the posterior. There are people I don't want to sell a car to --period-- I can see them coming a mile away.

(4) Every time Honda comes out with a new model or a redesign, there is a waiting list for the car. I sell the sizzle, charge sticker and people wait, sometime for months and they are happy to do so.

Hope this feedback helps.

Kind regards,
Caroline Kirby

Isn't that cool?

Caroline nails several principles that often elude the accidental entrepreneur.

The first is that price is not the most important factor in most sales. You can prove this to yourself by reflecting on your own buying habits.

Even though you may make some decisions based on price, odds are that there are some products and services for which you happily pay a premium. Consider organic food, for example, or shoes.

There have been times in my life -- and happy ones -- when I made most decisions based on price. And when I began to earn a little more, I was happy to vote my preferences with my pocketbook.

Today I bought a Diet Coke (save the warnings; it's my last guilty secret). Rather than buy a case at a supermarket, I prefer to get my daily bottle from the neighborhood convenience store. I adore Mrs. Kim; we are buddies. I cherish the easy-going warmth and lightness of our relationship, and I gladly spend four or five times what I need to in order to experience this exchange.

Caroline also points out that the customers with whom you have the friendliest and most easy-going relationship are the ones who pay premium prices.

Sure, there are exceptions. But in my experience they are few and far between. One reason is that when you price shop, you get what you are looking for: the lowest price.

When you give your clients and customers something even more valuable than the lowest price, that "something" almost always strengthens the relationship. Whether it's customer service, superior quality, or just plain neighborliness that they are buying, the customer who is paying more is getting more.

Consider, too, how generous you can be toward your customers when you are thriving. I'm not talking about dollars-and-cents generosity. I'm talking about the open-hearted, easy-going (that term again!) sort of generosity that emerges when you know that there is more than enough to go around.

Notice, I did not say, "when you know that you have more than enough." Selling is not about taking money from your customers' pockets and putting it in your own. Selling is an exchange, a transaction that marks the movement of energy in the form of money, products, and services.

The free flow of energy requires awareness that there is more than enough to go around. To believe anything else requires you to restrict the flow at some point by grabbing more or asking for less than you want.

Generosity isn't just giving, it's delighting in witnessing what others have and get, including what they get by buying from you or selling to you.

Is it any wonder that, as Caroline writes, "The people on whom you make the most, love you the most and are the easiest to deal with"? Isn't it worth remembering when setting prices?

Talk Back: love to hear from you, and I read every letter personally. Send your thoughts to letters@authenticpromotion.com. And be sure to let me know if you prefer not to be quoted.