The beginners guide to distinguishing value from price

I may have mentioned that in another part of the forest I have an online CD shop, selling mainly on the Discogs platform and at record fairs. One of the things that continues to puzzle me is the confusion between price and value, and how that same confusion seems to affect people’s ability to bringing the right services and support into their businesses.

There’s a Country Rock band called Whiskey Myers. They’ve done half a dozen or so albums most of which sell for ￡4 or ￡5 each. But their first album sells regularly for ￡80-￡90. They are ok musically, the fact that you haven’t heard of them tells you all you need to know though. So why the high price? It’s not that scarce, there’s always several for sale. But about four years ago the price shot up. At about the same time a Reddit thread appeared titled “Did Whiskey Myers scrub Road of Life from existence? Can't find any of those songs anywhere.” The answer to the question is that it was owned by a small label who went under in 2010 so like many albums it went into rights limbo with no one interested in keeping the music available. The band have moved on and probably gave up on it years ago. But that thread started a feeding frenzy which is still going on. There are hundreds of other unfeasibly priced records and CDs that haven’t sold for years at an inflated price, but which provoke hostile messages about devaluing the market when I sell one to a happy fan for a reasonable price. I’ve offered good value, and built a new customer relationship, while still making a fair profit.

But what does this have to do with the services you want to buy to support your business? The desire to get the best support, Accountant, VA, Coach, or whatever is understandable, but how do you assess what their benefit to you will be? It’s easy to encounter a confident manner, a sharp pitch and hefty price tag and assume that these things add up to value.

My experience has been however that the pitch and price tag are born of a need to repeat the introductory process regularly because clients don’t stick around past the initial sign-up period. I want to build partnerships with clients, suppliers and others which last and generate tangible and intangible benefits to both our businesses. I’ve no interest in a short-term financial gain at the expense of relationships and reputation. And I don’t think I’m alone. So why do so many business owners pay sizeable percentages of their turnover taking on a consultant or designer who is unlikely to show them a worthwhile return on investment.

It's that feeding frenzy again. A rousing keynote or presentation at a conference or networking event which elicits fulsome praise from the attendees can leave you feeling that you need to get on board before the train leaves. That’s the point to stop, look around the room and ask yourself: “Who else should I talk to before committing?”

Getting caught up in the moment is easy. But the decisions about business guidance are big ones, and more often than not price does not equal value. Value is often to be found in casual conversations where a spark strikes with someone, or with the person you’ve meant to book a one to one with. You may have discounted a coach or VA because you haven’t talked to them, and made assumptions about their price, or their interest in working with you. So, check your preconceptions and have the conversation, you can thank me later…