Have you ever wondered why car dealers talk about low
monthly payments? Or why mobile phone
companies talk about flat monthly charges?
It’s because they want you thinking in terms of the smallest dollar
figure associated with the overall relationship while ignoring the lifetime cost
of the product or service. This is a
very important psychological game and it works well regardless of what you are
selling.
Phone companies and car dealers are not alone in this
thinking. Just look around at how things
are priced based on their lowest dollar unit:
- Data - by the kilobyte/gigabyte
- Consulting fees - by the hour
- Software - by the “seat”
- Real estate - by the square foot
- Professional search – 1% per thousand of the candidate’s starting salary
The list could go on and on.
When you are working on a large deal it is exciting to think
about the revenue impact on the organization – and on your bank account! But it is important that you communicate to
the customer in terms of the smallest dollar size that makes sense. Let’s consider the car example again. A monthly payment of $199 for a new car
sounds great – thousands of people sign up for this deal on a regular basis. It’s only after the buyer becomes emotionally
committed to the transaction that they see the magnitude of their decision in
the finance documents. There, in black
and white, it is plain for them to see that they are paying many thousands of
dollars in interest, ultimately committing to far more than the car is worth in
today’s value. But they can afford the
monthly payment and so move forward with the transaction. Besides, they have convinced themselves that they
are getting a really good deal. After
all, it’s only costing them $199 per month.
Blog continued below
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Here’s
an example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a
rep. He was frustrated that a prospect
had gone dark. After a few great
meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?”
email right then, during our call.
He did and guess what happened?
The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls
and emails. That’s why I wrote the
book. The emails work – all the time! If you have prospects that have “gone dark” –
and who hasn’t – the book is for you.
There is also an email for following up on leads, and another for
planning killer sales calls. What are
you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake
up on their own!
The
book, Click “Send” and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with
Extraordinary Sales Success is
available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at
the iTunes store.
No eReader? No problem! Click HERE
to download and print the book in any format you want.
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Leverage that same process with your prospects. Always provide the per-(fill in the blank
here) transaction price. And, don’t ever
present the full cost of the transaction describing the large dollar volume commitment. Let them figure that out later. Get them excited about the low transaction
price and the subsequent emotional commitment to purchase from you. They are smart enough to
figure out the math at another time. Don’t
do that for them. You are much more
likely to win a deal by quoting a $.60 per transaction price than you are by telling
them that the total cost for the first year is $325,000. See the difference?
But don’t take my word for it. Turn on the radio or TV and listen to the
ads. It won’t take long for you to recognize
the efficacy of this kind of pricing strategy.
