There are few things more annoying than losing business to low-ballers and price-cutters. But when it happens, let’s make sure we don’t learn the wrong lesson!
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Losing an order to a price-cutting competitor can be frustrating, but it’s not the worst thing that can happen to us.
Instead, when a value-conscious, promotional products advisor loses an order to a low-balling, price-cutting distributor, the worst thing that can happen is if it creates doubt in our minds.
Creating Doubt in the Mind of the True Professional is About the Worst Thing that Can Happen!
- Am I Being Too Greedy?
- Should I Have Gone in at a Lower Price?
- Do I Need to Start Deep-Discounting as Well?
- Should I Offer to Match or Beat the Price?
In all discussions of price, I feel compelled to issue my standard reminder that we operate in a free market system, which means that no one else can tell you what to charge for the products you sell. That decision is entirely up to you.
You can sell at catalog pricing, you can sell above catalog pricing or you can sell below it.
But if you are thinking about cutting your prices and your gross profit margin in order to attract more business, I urge you to consider these two questions…
1. What type of client is a low-ball distributor likely to attract?
2. Is that the type of client upon whom I can build a successful promotional products business?
In every market, there are clients who base their buying decisions primarily on price. We tend to think of people like this as thrifty, tight-fisted or just downright cheap.
And Aren’t Cheap Clients the least loyal clients you can have?
Think about it. If someone will leave their current distributor and come to you because your price is lower, won’t they do the same thing to you when someone comes along and offers to charge even less than you do?
What type of client does a low-ball distributor attract? Cheapskates, right? And these are often the very least loyal clients you can have.
Over the years I have literally trained thousands of promotional product distributors worldwide and I can assure you of one thing…
No matter how crazy things get or how desperate you are for a order, in our industry, there will always be someone else who is more desperate than you are.
No matter how much you are willing to cut your price in order to get the order, there is always someone who will be willing to cut it even more.
That Essentially Makes Price-Based Selling a No-Win Game
I talk frequently about the rush to zero margin and I encourage you to ask yourself, is that a race you want to enter, let alone win?
My clients — members of the Top Secrets Mastermind Group and the AIM SmartEQP community — consist of true promotional products professionals who are committed to the same common goal: To increase their sales, improve their profit margins and grow their book of business.
It’s not about cutting price, it’s about increasing value.
It’s not about charging less, it’s about delivering more.
It’s not about becoming a price-cutter, it’s about becoming a professional.
In the training area inside the Top Secrets and AIM SmartEQP communities, we provide you with the ideas, the strategies and the tactics you need to increase the value you provide to your clients. By doing this — by increasing your value to your clients — you become worth more to them, which is really the only way to you can increase your sales and your profit margins at the same time.
If you are the type of person who wants to build a successful, profitable business by attracting a client base that actually appreciates the value you bring to the table, then give us a call toll-free at 1-800-494-2721 or join the AIM SmartEQP community today at SmartEQP.com.
If you’re new to the industry and need to get grounded in the essentials of promotional products sales, visit us online at topsecrets.com/gettingstarted. If you need to get clients now with no distractions and no excuses, visit topsecrets.com/tsca. Or, if you’re a smart, focused, independent distributor doing a reasonable volume of sales, join the AIM SmartEQP community today at SmartEQP.com that’s SmartEQP.com.
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5 replies to "Learning from Price-Cutters and Low-Ball Competitors"
That’s not how it is in the oilfield it’s dog eat dog and the lowest bid wins the job. no one cares about service or professionalism all they care is how much will it cost them. cheap services doen’t matter to them as long as the job gets done. and one of the low ballers have cut the prices so low they won’t even consider another service to do the job. in some situations your right but in the oilfield cheap gets the job no matter who it is….
Excellent Input David ,
Tks for the pep talk!
Glad you enjoyed it, Gary. Thanks.
Great take David!! Thanks.
Hey Jack, great to hear from you! Thanks for your feedback.