I’ve worked with a lot of small businesses (and plenty of large ones, too) to improve their pricing. This creates fundamental changes in the business model that greatly improves profitability. Yet once that’s done, what the sales team needs, whether … Read More
Blog
Would better proposal software have saved the Death Star? (How to write a killer proposal)
A lot of small business owners are much better at “doing what they do” than selling. I’ll count myself among them. But all is not lost. For many of us in the business-to-business world, the better you get at selling, … Read More
The Value of Time for SMB Owners
People often start a business to pursue a passion and to have more control over their lives. Unfortunately, the business often ends up taking control instead. The owner has less time with family, rather than more, and even when not … Read More
3 Ways to Boost Profits in 2012
Cut costs without hurting sales. Raise prices (nominally, by raising list prices, or effectively, by reducing discounts) without hurting sales. Ummm, ummm. What’s the 3rd one? Costs… prices… and the 3rd one, let’s see… No sir, no sir. And the … Read More
You’re Not Getting Enough Price Objections
Many business owners and sales reps hate price objections. They view price objections as some kind of faux pas that they should have avoided, an awkward situation, best resolved quickly (and often with huge damage to profits). Do you like … Read More
Pricing Battle Plan for Services
Last week, we looked at how preparing a pricing battle plan increases your sales and profits while decreasing your stress. This week, let’s look at another example, a service business with about 10 professionals. To protect the guilty, we’ll call … Read More
What’s your pricing battle plan?
How many businesses build a cool product, then figure out what to charge for it? How many companies decide what to quote on a proposal after they’ve written the proposal? If you make your pricing decisions then, you are at … Read More
Amazon Enters the Tablet War for Real, and at $199
As expected, Amazon this week launched a new media tablet, the Kindle Fire, at a $199 price point. This immediately started the debate about whether the Kindle Fire was an iPad killer. Indeed, this debate overshadowed the overhaul of the … Read More
Do Pricing First, Not Last
Creative people love making things– widgets, software, knowledge, service calls. A lot of businesses and product lines get started this way. Someone has a cool idea to make something. Skeptics shoot down the idea. The founder or engineer makes it. … Read More
Selling a Commodity for a Premium Price
How can you charge more for a commodity? Here’s one of my favorite examples. 24 ounces of ketchup at $0.07/oz. Turn that idea on its head. 32 ounces at $0.079/oz. The price per unit goes up almost 13%. Not bad … Read More