How to eliminate price resistance

Today, I want to talk about that dreaded “I can’t afford it. It’s too expensive.”

You likely hear that from people across the income spectrum.

I’m going to give you a bit of a contrarian response for handling it

Now, I’ll tell you right here and now…you’re not going to like my advice.

As a matter of fact, most people will reject it and move on to something else.

But the plain fact of the matter is…if your marketing system is doing what it should be doing…

You should never hear any sort of price objection.

There’s nothing wrong with your fees.

The problem is in your marketing (or lack there of).

If you are relying on word of mouth and referrals for all your business…the upside is that it’s easy and convenient. Doesn’t cost you anything. All you have to do is answer the phone. Very similar to being a retail clerk.?

But…you don’t have a lot of influence on who wanders into the store. (Metaphorically speaking.)

Which means you’re going to get price objections a lot. That’s what happens when there’s no quality control to whom you are connecting with.?

For some reason people take great pride in saying “All my business comes from referrals”? as if they don’t have to market their services.

However, the reality is that they have no clue as to how, to market, so it’s really just a face saving mechanism.

But compare that to the process where you are targeting a very specific audience.

You dangle something in front of them that addresses a concern, an interest, a desire they have.

For example

A couple of years ago I did a campaign for a very prestigious summer camp. What we learned as a part of the research, is that these very wealthy parents look at their own summer camp experiences extremely positively-not only for the activities, but for the relationships and connections that were made back in the day.

Although it’s not talked about much, and certainly never used in marketing, attending summer camp with the right type of people is one of the underlying, and very important reasons, why one camp is chosen over the other.

At least for the extremely wealthy.

So armed with that knowledge, we supplemented the marketing focus from activities, to connections. Highlighting the types of people who attend. Elevating the prestige of the camp in the process.

Applications went up 37%.?

Although the camp was priced in the 97th percentile of comparable camps, we received none…zero…nada…pushback on fees.

We knew what our target audience wanted in a summer camp experience, and created a marketing message that communicated that understanding.

Diametrically opposite of just fielding calls from parents who were “referred” by someone.

The point here is twofold.

1) Think about your wealthy prospect. What do they truly desire, or want to avoid? Focus your message on that. In this particular case it was connections and relationships.

Emphasize this in the copy on the sales page. (Naturally, you’ll want to finesse the language so as to not make it too obvious)?

For over 55 years Camp XXX has prided itself in providing an exceptional summer experience for the children of…

2) Once the marketing message is developed, you need to promote it.

Yes, I know that the idea of actually spending money on advertising, or a direct mail campaign, gets many people all-a-shaking and a-quivering.?

But that’s what you need to do if you are targeting highly desirable clients, such as the wealthy.

In this case, we ran ads in Town & Country Magazine and Departures (which is sent to all holders of American Express Black & Platinum cards.)

The results speak for themself.

This is how you eliminate price resistance.?

Now, the challenge is…how can you adapt this model to your own business?

Worth giving some thought to this.

Mark

PS: I expand on this concept in my 9th book The Affluent Marketing Blueprint. Available wherever books are sold or HERE during my special promotion. Take advantage of it before I take the FREE BOOK offer down.