Make Price A Non-Issue: Sell The Package, Not The Product

SM’s July cover story, “Price Check,” prompted the following response from a reader in Montgomery, Ill.:

“Excellent topic and definitely worth discussing. I believe your contributors missed some key points [in the article]. First of all, the selling price is made up of cost, overhead and profit. They seemed to miss the profit part. Many of the frustrations, tracking and evaluating pricing could be eliminated by a change in business philosophy. Pricing is a management function, not a sales function. Imagine the conversation with a customer if the sales rep could not lower the price. He would have to make the sale on the value added.”

Smart reader. He’s right — there is much more to this story.
In talking with industry consultants and distributors for last month’s story, I realized a second article was warranted on the hot topic of price.

“Point/Counterpoint,” offers strategies and ideas to help distributors — and their salespeople — “hold the line” when it comes to pricing. By defining, then promoting the value you bring to the table, you’ll be much less likely to compromise on price. A firm belief in the benefits of your products and services helps, too — you can’t afford to sacrifice those precious profit margins.
Focusing on the selling points of doing business with your company versus the products themselves is more important than ever in today’s highly competitive marketplace. I hope the article gives you some ideas for putting these principles to work within your sales organization.
Keep those letters and ideas coming…

• • •

Ready for your journey to the Windy City? Check out our ISSA/INTERCLEAN® preview and look for the full trade show guide in next month’s issue.