Let's talk about Value, not Price

A number of companies have mandated us recently to lead “𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏“ workshops. They are all well-known institutions with solid brands, professional salespeople/client advisors, and attractive product offers. Surely their clients should 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 or 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 to discuss price with such high-end providers ?

📌The problem with the word “𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆” 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 “𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕”, and particularly in the current environment most clients are looking to cut costs. Consumers are regularly  bombarded with “discount offers” (for example internet and mobile phone providers, travel and financial services etc).

📌They can access web sites and publications which exist solely to compare brands, services and prices. Thus they become “𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔”, selecting service providers based only on price since convinced that all available options are similar.

📌The bad news for service providers is these clients then lose the habit of asking “which solution is most appropriate or beneficial for me ?”

📌The solution for high-end service providers is to reframe the client relationship via a “𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏”. Clients tend to make purchase decisions based on “perceived value”, such as how well a solution solves a problem or helps achieve a goal and the resulting emotional satisfaction it promotes.

📌Any conversation around price should be based on what is 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 about the offer rather than its content, so avoiding direct comparisons with competitors, and its value expressed in terms of real benefits to the client’s needs and expectations.

📌This approach can also be applied to “intangible” products such as investment solutions or consultancy services – but only if the advisor adopts the right mindset and is convinced themselves of the solution’s intrinsic value.

𝓡&𝓡 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓾𝓮 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓼 proposes applied advisory coaching and mentoring to address these elements, for groups and individuals. Please contact us for more detail.