Revisiting pricing power

Your ability to get the prices you deserve for the results you deliver for your customers is called pricing power. This is having the skills to set your prices at a level you deserve, and the confidence to ask for them. And your customers will be willing to pay the prices you want.

Over the course of the last few weeks I've been revisiting some of my Programme material and reviewed some of my older content.

Some of the questions raised in one of my earlier 'manifesto' documents still ring true.

Fish where the fish are

Some customers take up so much of your time, for little reward. But the really great customers don’t. They just love what you do. How much easier would it be if you just worked with these valuable customers?

Don’t talk about features and benefits

Most of people believe that we should talk about features and benefits. Your customers aren’t interested. So what are they interested in? Why? What makes them buy? And what makes them buy now?

Be genuinely different

You've probably heard about a unique selling proposition (USP) before. Being unique is hard if not impossible. Being different takes real courage. So how do you stop your product from being a commodity? How can you focus on what really matters most to your customers? And how can you do that to beat your competitors?

Influence customers’ perception of pricing

Do you wonder why some customers are more sensitive to prices than others? Why some will pay a higher price and others won’t? It’s not as mystical as you think. You have more influence than you imagine. So what pricing and psychological tactics can you use to win more business at a higher price?

Sell with confidence

Selling at higher prices can create barriers. We fear what customers will think. We lack the confidence to ask for the price we want. We fear objections. We fear losing the sale. Somehow, being expensive is a bad thing. Does it have to be this way? No. You can sell more, more often and at a higher price. But how?

Avoid giving it all away

You have a great product. You’re an expert. You get results for people. You’ve been brave and priced to your value. You’ve asked the customer for the money. Why fall down at the last hurdle and negotiate it all away? How can you protect your pricing so all that hard work doesn’t go to waste?

Of all the issues relating to creating and leveraging Pricing Power I still come back to three core concepts;

1. Understanding what is really important to your customers, why? and why now? Getting to the heart of what they really want and need and putting some numbers or quantifying that.
2. Being differentiated to your competitors and the alternatives. Not being focused on features and benefits, but outcomes, or the results you help customers achieve. Monetise and quantify these, show evidence of how you will help them get more results by working with you than anyone else and you have as close to an 'as good as it gets' proposition as you can.
3. Be confident in how you communicate this to customers and your market. Get this right and they'll also get it.

Focus on getting these three areas right and achieving Pricing Power will become a reality.

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