Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;

andrew@pricewithoutfear.com

www.pricewithoutfear.com

+44 (0)7808095825

Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;

andrew@pricewithoutfear.com

www.pricewithoutfear.com

+44 (0)7808095825

Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;

andrew@pricewithoutfear.com

www.pricewithoutfear.com

+44 (0)7808095825

Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;

andrew@pricewithoutfear.com

www.pricewithoutfear.com

+44 (0)7808095825

Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;

andrew@pricewithoutfear.com

www.pricewithoutfear.com

+44 (0)7808095825

Don't forget how to get in touch in you need further help and support;

andrew@pricewithoutfear.com

www.pricewithoutfear.com

+44 (0)7808095825

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 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’s worth thinking about whether or not a market based pricing approach is the right one.

I 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.

This may not sound too dissimilar to other definitions of negotiating, however we know that as Price is THE most powerful profit lever you have, an approach that emphasises value and not price as the key lever in the negotiation stands much better chance of protecting margins than any other approach.

Over the course of future episodes we'll explore this in more detail and give you some frameworks and tools that will help you in your value negotiating.

By managing how you discount and who to will discount to, you will be in a much better position to secure and protect your prices and margins.

Don't discount without a good reason, do the numbers first and understand the impact on your market and customer positioning. If you do decide to discount your prices, do it in a controlled way that delivers the objectives you want.

If you want to win more deals more often at higher prices - manage discounts and price reductions.

They will not only help achieve the prices you deserve, they will also give you more confidence to talk numbers.

And make this part of the value selling process easier, simpler and more enjoyable, yes enjoyable.

Oh and the bonus tip is crucial!

Value can mean different things to different people, we all value things differently.

So if we want to be more concise and clear in our language, using some other words and phrases may be more useful. 

This episode will give you three other words you can use that will have an impact in your value conversations, increasing your chances of getting the right message understood by your customer as you discuss what you can do for them in their business.

Customers won't necessarily 'get' the full value of what we deliver for them through our products and services, they'll have many things to think about and supplier performnce is just one. If they're happy with you they will know it, but not necessary just how value you are to them.

So it's up to us to make sure our customers really understand the value, results and outcomes we help them achieve. And if we can quantify this and monetise it then we're communicating our value in a powerful way.

This episode will give you three reason why this is so important, one of which makes winning future deals at higher prices much much easier.

In the third episode in this 'mini' series I talk about how you can begin to identify what is important - or valuable to your customers - in the more intangible areas they may be interested in.

Sometimes outcomes and value may not be measured or quantifiable in terms of money, improved conversion rates, win/loss ratios and so on.

They are more difficult to put a figure on, issues like feelings, or a sense of safety and reduced risk.

However these are all areas we need to consider when understanding what outcomes and value means to our customers because we know people buy on emotions as well as rational drivers. 

In the second episode in this 'mini' series I talk about how you can begin to identify what is important - or valuable to your customers.

By providing a framework to understand what is really important to our customers we can begin to focus in on the key issues impacting their business and how we can help them improve.

The upcoming episodes will put more detail into this area so we can really get to grips with what is important to our customers and how we can ensure we deliver the outcomes and results they will value - which means we will then have a much better chance of winning deals, more often at higher prices.

This isn't necessarily that easy as value can mean different things to different people and can be very contextual and depend on the situation they are in.

What is crucial is to understand what is important to customers, in this episode I introduce a simple idea and tool to help us get started in this area.

The upcoming episodes will put more detail into this area so we can really get to grips with what is important to our customers and how we can ensure we deliver the outcomes and results they will value - which means we will then have a much better chance of winning deals, more often at higher prices.

Driven by the fear of rejection, challenge or disagreement - and potentially losing the business.

We may practice overcoming price objections, how about avoiding them in the first place.

So anything that can gives us more confidence to handle these conversations more effectively will help, yes?

In this episode I'll give you one word change that can turn this stressful part of the conversation into something much more positive and enjoyable.

I suggest you practice using the phrase, frame it with the words you want and feel comfortable to you then practice your new wording until you become familiar and confident with it.

Try it and see how it goes - it could make all the difference to you winning more deals more often at higher prices.

I know many people who have fallen into this margin destroying behaviour, yet it's simple to get out of.

Too often we can lower our price - on the basis the we don't want to get objections from the customer and lose the business - before we've even had the price and value conversation with them.

This is called pre-discounting and impacts your margins, self esteem and confidence.

In this episode I urge you to stop doing it and give you a couple solutions to try to avoid making this costly mistake.

Sometimes this is just a statement to see if we will react and drop the price, sometimes it's a genuine concern and valid challenge.

How we react to that statement will impact the price we charge that customer.

In this episode I give you some ways that you can respond to that statement and use some price negotiation tactics to move the conversation forward in a collaborative way.

Of course we know that we really need to discuss value and quantifiable monetised outcomes for the customer before we get to price, that way we can position our price against the value we will deliver for the customer and be able to compare it to alternatives or reference points better.

That's not always possible.

Sometimes a customer will ask up front about Price - here are some ideas you can use or tailor to your own approach, in tackling this issue.

Being courageous to ask for the prices and fees you want and deserve

Being confident to use all the tools, methods and approaches you have to help you lead the process

and

Having the conviction to hold your ground in the face of challenges or objections

Developing this type of mindset may not be easy, however the content of the podcast and our programmes are designed to build this mindset so you can win more deals, more often at higher prices.

And the great thing is, if you can develop, grow and nurture this mindset two things happen;

1. Your Price and Negotiation conversations become easier, simpler and Dre I say more fun?
2. Your customer or prospective customer will perceive you as being more credible, knowledgeable and most importantly more trustworthy. Which means they will just 'get' what you do and be much more willing to pay the prices you want - it just comes across in your behaviour.

This is part 3 in the 'raising prices' mini series. 

In this episode ...

In episode 10 we'll be covering the second stage of implementing your increase, covering;

5. Preparation.

6. Customer communication and conversation.

7. Implementation and reinforcing customer value.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This is part 2 in the 'raising prices' mini series. 

In this episode ...

In episode 9 we'll be covering the first stages of implementing your increase, covering;

1. Goals and objectives.
2. Planning and risk analysis.
3. Tactics.
4. Your price increase story

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

I've split this subject into three parts, over this and the next two podcasts, to give you some ideas of how to raise prices and then more specifically how you can implement the changes in parts 2 and 3.

In this episode ...

In episode 8 we'll be covering why and how you can raise prices;

1. The situations that mean you should raise prices.
2. 7 ways you can raise prices and a bonus .
3. The next steps you should take.

There'll be more on this subject in future podcasts.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode introduces you to securing and protecting your value through negotiating.

Once we've had the value conversation with the customer we need to make sure we don't give value away right at the end by negotiating badly.

In this episode ...

In episode 7 we'll be introducing:

1. A definition of negotiating.
2. How it can add value when done well.
3. Our 5 principles of effective negotiating.

There'll be more on this subject in future podcasts.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode introduces you to value selling and how you can approach the price conversation with customers.

In this episode ...

In episode 6 we'll be covering the following:

1. What the value conversation is.
2. A definition of Value selling and what it's about.
3. How you can communicate value.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

Proven to be the most effective pricing approach, the idea is simple, however can be challenging to implement.

In this episode ...

In episode 5 we'll be covering:

1. What value based pricing is.
2. Why it's important.
3. How to start pricing better.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode introduces you to the idea of a quantified, differentiated, monetised value proposition.

in short the most valuable type of proposition you can have that is proven to enable you and your business to win more sales, more often, at a higher price.

In this episode ...

In episode 4 we'll be covering:

1. Why this is important - the research and the practice.
2. Why quantifying and monetising value is crucial.
3. The process to achieve this proposition.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode introduces you to the concept of value and why it is so important to your pricing and selling strategy.

In this episode ...

In episode 3 we'll be covering:

1. What is value
2. Why it's important
3. What you need to be thinking about in developing your approach

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode introduces you to why pricing is so important to your business and you.

In this episode I discuss...

The reasons why you should focus on pricing

The reasons why people don't

Where to start

In episode 3 we'll be covering all things related to value as the foundation of your journey to Price without Fear.

Hope you enjoy the episode and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.

This episode introduces you to the Price without Fear podcast. A podcast that's all about hitting your Pricing Power sweet spot and being able to Price without Fear, so you can achieve the revenue, margins and profit you deserve for what you do, in whatever business you're in.

Listen to an introduction to the podcast and what I'll be talking about over the coming weeks and months.

In this episode ...

I ask you some searching questions ...

discuss why they're important ...

and Introduce you to the four skills you need to hit your Pricing Power sweet spot ...

In the coming episodes we'll be discussing how you can achieve the prices you deserve for the results you get for your customers and clients. Winning more sales, more often and at a higher price.

And giving you the knowledge to develop your approach.

Giving you some great tips.

Practical tools you can use.

And focused on the actions you can take in your business to grow your profits.

In episode 2 we'll be covering three really important subjects:

1. The five reasons why Pricing is so important.
2. The five reasons people and business fail to take action on Pricing.
3. The one fundamental issue you need to address if you want to earn more profit.

Then we'll move on to discuss the four skills in much more depth, using theory, case studies and stories. All the time bring you practical tips and methods you can use to make more from your products and services.

But more of that next time.

Hope you enjoy the intro and as always please get in touch if you'd like to discuss anything.