Warren Buffett, ranked as the number one billionaire in the entire world, according to Forbes Magazine, has been quoted as saying: “Price is what you pay – value is what you get.”
What does this mean?
Every customer, patron, ticket buyer or donor wants the same thing you do: a good value. By delivering a good value to your customers, patrons, ticket buyers or donors, they will pay whatever price you set.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not really. You simply need to have a clear understanding of what customers, patrons, ticket buyers, donors, or anyone else you wish to sell your services or produces to, value.
Understanding the Roots of Value- Step #1:
Start by building relationships and building trust. Value implies trust so start by building it. Always underpromise and overdeliver.
An example of this would be:
“I’ll have this project done for you within one week.” but instead you complete it and deliver it to the client in three days.
Another example would be:
“This project will cost about $1,000″ but it actually turns out to cost the client less and you charge them only $950.
Yet another example would be:
” I need 30 minutes of your time” but actually only needing 15.
As simple as it sounds, by becoming known for keeping your promise and doing what you say, and in even the smallest ways offering more then you promise, you create perceived and real value for your customer.
I cannot tell you, over the years, how teaching artists to simply promptly return all of their emails and phone calls the same day or the very next morning, and following up with prospects as promised, is the single most important inexpensive way to create value. Why? Because so many people on this planet do not do this! Look around at all the horrible customer service major companies provide. Our world is so conditioned to expect bad service, which is why so many people focus on price, that when you actually deliver good– or better– extraordinary service, you have already gone a long way towards building trust and the roots of perceived value you need with your client.
Step #2: Always offer value that is greater than the price your customer pays.
The story I shared with you in part I of The Art of The Sale, illustrated this point, but let’s discuss it now in greater detail.
A product’s value should never be equal to its cost.
For example, your product might cost you $5 but you sell it for $10. The value to you is $10. But the value to the customer must be more than the selling price. If it was only worth $10 to the customer then they have no motivation to buy it. But if the value to them is say $25, greater than the selling price, they are motivated to trade their money for something of greater value.
The more the value exceeds the cost of the purchase, the more the customer will want to buy it from you.
So how do you create value that exceeds the cost of the purchase? The next part of Art in The Sale will help you understand how to create value.
