You Can't Always Win.....And That's Ok!

How to Lose on Price (Or: You Cannot Win a Fight with One Who Is Willing to Kill Himself)

By S. Anthony Iannarino

I have made note here on my feeling about selling price. And here. And here. And here. The principle rule was, is, and always should be to create enough value for your dream client that you can capture some of the value for your company and for yourself.

This means that you are going to sometimes lose on price. Period.

You have to learn to live with that fact, even when it is painful to do so. You will sometimes lose on price even when you were the right choice. You will sometimes lose on price even when your competitor has no way of creating value because they have no way to make enough money to support a real solution. You will sometimes lose on price even when your dream client has bought a great, big, shiny lie.

In some fights, there is no way to win. If your competitor is willing to kill himself financially to win the deal, he is going to win the deal. You cannot win by chasing him to the bottom in a race to see which one of you is willing to kill yourself sooner and in the most horrific and brutal manner.

Worse still, you cannot win.

If your competitor is willing to go someplace that you cannot follow while still honoring the principle rule (create enough value that you can capture some for your company and yourself), then you simply cannot follow. To win at a price that would cause you to fail for your client, to produce less of a result than you know that your dream client needs, to produce a result that is less than you promised, or that leaves no way for you to capture any of the value that you create, then you have won nothing.

Instead you will have lost the time you could have spent working on a deal that would have produced results and value for your client and you. You will also have lost your integrity and your credibility by delivering a lesser result that will surely ruin your dream client’s experience of working with you (and producing an experience that they will likely share with others who ask).

How then do you handle these pricing contests? You handle them with class, with grace, and with confidence. You thank your dream client for their time. You let them know that you believe that your solution will produce a better result, and that you hope that if there decision doesn’t meet their expectations that you can reopen a dialogue about pursuing your solution. You wish them the best of luck, and you tell them that you are standing by at a moment’s notice to jump in with both feet and make a difference should they need you.

Then you move on. No gnashing of teeth. No wringing of hands.

But remember, the circle of life for those of us in sales begins with dissatisfaction. You get what you pay for, and the best solution and the best price are rarely found in the best offering (they are two different strategies). You stay close and you put this dream client right back on your nurture list while you work on developing the relationships you need to win your next dream client.

Conclusion

Sometimes your competitor will beat you on price. It hurts. But if winning means you can’t create the value you need to capture some for you and your company, go ahead and lose.

Bridging the Online and Offline Gap!

Events and experiential marketing used to be limited to events we held at the sales offices and model homes.  Today the world has changed and the social media phenomenon provides all of us with the opportunity to market in new and powerful ways.  Can one person create a buzz ... absolutely!  Can an organized group of sales and marketing professionals make a huge impact ... more than ever before!  Take a look at these techniques and think outside of the box ... how can you make a difference?....how go you bridge the gap?

7 Online Techniques to Improve Offline Events

Today, events and experiential marketing are extremely useful to marketers because they allow marketers to have face-to-face, direct contact with their potential and current customers. Furthermore, events are a useful technique for developing stronger inbound connections. So many companies have learned that these types of offline events allow them to reach potential customers through a more traditional platform. Holding events or taking to the streets makes it easier for marketers to directly connect their brands with their prospects and customers.

That said, making sure you connect these offline events with your inbound, online platforms is crucial. Using online channels can not only help you promote your event in advance, but it can also motivate attendees to engage more deeply with your event during and after it takes place.
Here are some helpful techniques you can use to connect an offline event online before, during, and after the event actually takes place. Read more of this article

Customer Service is Key!

JD Power may have some competition these days.  Never before have consumers had as much influence on a companies reputation as they do today!  Why do companies such as Nordstrom and Southwest Airlines spend so much time, money and training focused on the professional service provided to the client?  First and foremost, because it is the right thing to do.  Secondly, their employees understand that a positive and memorable experience will somehow make it to the bottom line via reputation, customer loyalty and eventually ... revenue.  The world is changing quickly and the consumer has a large stage to provide positive reviews on the product and service.  Become known as the difference maker for your organization.

Positive Customer Reviews Lead to Increases in Revenue

We’ve always known that negative customer reviews can bulldoze a business. But what can positive consumer reviews do? 

Michael Luca, a Harvard Business School student, discovered that consumer reviews have a positive effect on revenues in the restaurant industry. In his research, “Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com,” Luca revealed that “a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue.” Interestingly enough, this dynamic seems to affect independent restaurants and not chain restaurants.

A Great Opportunity for Small Businesses 

“The data show that people respond more to reviews when they don’t know much about a company. In industries where this is the case, the response should be larger,” said Luca in an email interview with HubSpot. This is great news for small businesses, for they can level the playing field and take advantage of customer reviews to grow their reputation. 

Click here to read more!

A Very Potent Speech from Steve Jobs!

Life is not about "what you take" ... rather it is what you leave behind.  In today's challenging economy this example of "passion and belief" is a message we should never forget.  Consider the challenges you may be facing as a "test" ... a test of your character, your belief, your determination and your friends.  Everything you will ever need to be successful in this life is sitting right in front of you.  Sometimes we just need to be willing to open our eyes and take a look!  Enjoy this story about a man who opened his eyes so we could enjoy his vision! 

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

Click here to read more or to view the speech

Facebook Does it Again!

What was once known as a "sales professional" is fast becoming "required to be" a marketing professional.  And for those of you who are ready to evolve, you can thank the social media revolution for that!  Facebook's new metrics and advanced advertising functionality means a number of important things for marketers.  Think of the many ways you can utilize Facebook's new 'People Talking About This' feature. According to research conducted by Nielson, when Facebook users see their friends’ names Facebook social ads, they’re twice as likely to remember the message and four times more likely to buy the product.  Sounds like a traffic opportunity to your community!

Related Articles:

Facebook Launches Public-Facing Buzz Metric and Enhanced Ad Feature
 

And the Facebook announcements just keep on coming. Today, we learn about Facebook's new metrics within the Insights tool, a new premium ad unit, and the Facebook Insights API.

Let's dive right into what these new features are and what they mean for marketers. 

Read more about this on HubSpot Blog!