Price without Fear

This Quick tip is focused on the use of 'contrast' in your price conversations and negotiations.Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;[email protected]+44 (0)7808095825 

This Quick tip is focused on understanding why your 'walk away point' in your price negotiations is so important.Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;[email protected]+44 (0)7808095825

This Quick tip is focused on the use of a classic phrase in your price negotiations.Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;[email protected]+44 (0)7808095825

This Quick tip is focused on the use of practice to develop your price conversations and negotiations.Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;[email protected]+44 (0)7808095825 

This Quick tip is focused on the use of Open Questions in your price conversations and negotiations.Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;[email protected]+44 (0)7808095825

This Quick tip is focused on the use of Silence and Pauses in your price conversations and negotiations.Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;[email protected]+44 (0)7808095825

Pre-discounting is where you lower the price of your product/service before presenting it to the customer because you feel it won't be acceptable to them.Of course this means lower prices, margins and profits based on an ASSUMPTION the customer will react adversely to your price proposal.We know in most cases price is just one, and very rarely THE, buying criteria for people, so customers may not be worried about price. Indeed if we have done our job well in the value conversation then based on the value and outcomes we'll deliver for our customer, they will be willing and happy to pay our price.So why reduce it before we have even spoken to them?Don't - work out your value based prices, present these to the customers, then justify value and get the prices you deserve.

We don't like talking about money, we don't like to discuss how good we are, we don't like conflict or disagreements -this can make our value and price conversations and negotiations difficult to navigate.We want a smooth journey from customer conversations to pricing proposals to winning the deal, not challenges.For this reason we find these types of conversations emotional - what if I lose the deal, what if the customer doesn't like the price, what if I miss my targets.And this can lead to margin destructive behaviour, we try to avoid the discussion which often leads to a lack of value communication and discounting - which of courses reduces prices, margins and profit.So what can we do to avoid this and manage our emotions better? 

It can be an approach that is accepted as the right pricing approach however it may not be – it could be your customers quote market prices which are not optimum (and lower prices are always in their best interests), market prices may be based on outdated information or perceptions or your competitors are simply following each others pricing and nobody is right, it’s all guesswork.It’s worth thinking about whether or not a market based pricing approach is the right one.

Episode NotesI call it the Negotiation Variables Value Mapper - a simple tool based on the principle that in a negotiation we shouldn't give anything away without getting something back in return."If you can do this for me, I may be able to that for you"Of course we can make concessions where and when we need to, however we should trade areas of low cost to us and high value to the customer, in return for any concessions we want to protect our position with aspects of the deal that are of high value to us. These are the things we ask our customer for.Preparing two lists - 1. what we can ask from the customer and 2. what we are prepared to give them are crucial in this process otherwise we run the risk of giving too much away too soon. Prioritise these lists in terms of cost and value.If you create this tool and use it consistently it will help you protect your margins and value in the deal.