home

If you want to get paid what you’re worth here are eight ways to sell value – not price:

1. Be Unique. If there is nothing that differentiates you from your competition you become common. Webster defines the word common as, “ordinary or not special” and the only way buyers select one common service over another is price.
Take inventory of your skills, experience and knowledge. Are you a specialist in some area? Are you an expert in certain facets of your business? These and other differentiators can make you unique and valuable to a select group of clients.

2. Choose Your Clients Carefully: Don’t ever let your clients choose you or you will be at their mercy. If a deal is going to close successfully, the true professional should be in control, not the client.
To begin controlling your business, write down the attributes of the people you want as clients and then go out and get them with targeted marketing. I hope the first item on your list of attributes is that they are people you enjoy spending time with. Being a business owner is far too difficult to work with people you don’t like just to earn a living.
Turn away people who don’t meet your criteria. When you reject or refer clients it tells the world that you don’t just work with anyone, you are selective which raises your perceived value. It also makes you unique from other businesses who will work with anyone who can bring them a paycheck.

3. Set High Standards: If you work with anyone and everyone your value drops. If people have to qualify to work with you your value increases. Of course you know that there are prospect who will ask you to give them a bid with no intention of ever buying from you. They’re planning to use your bid to leverage a discount with their current vendor or any one of a dozen other reasons that they want your knowledge but not your services. Then there are buyers who will waste your time and then purchase through another vendor (probably a relative).
Don’t ever meet with a potential client until you ask a logical list of questions to determine their seriousness and loyalty. You need to know their motivation and if they are interviewing other vendors. You also need to know if they’re financially qualified. If you don’t have serious, financially solvent, and loyal clients, why waste your valuable time with them?

4. Compete On Value, Not Price: No disrespect intended to other business models, but it doesn’t take any special skill, experience or knowledge to compete on price. All you have to do is be the cheapest, but this is a losing game.
Some people may remember the gas price wars of the 1960’s and early 1970’s when there seemed to be a gas station on nearly every corner. To gain market share, one would cleverly lower its price, but then all the others quickly followed suit and the only result was that everyone’s profit margin was reduced.
The way to get paid what you’re worth is to visibly demonstrate your value to your clients. Competing on price does not create value.

5. Create Value In The Eyes Of Clients: Frankly, most people throughout the country believe that people in sales do little to earn their commissions. This is our fault because we should be educating them about how hard we work before ever accepting them as clients.
Keeping my prices firm was a problem until I started tracking of all the different duties required to earn my pay. I developed lists of activities I do for customers. This amazes clients because most have no idea how complicated their orders sometimes can be (whether it’s manufacturing, servicing, fulfillment, etc.)
Since I created these lists I’ve never had to cut prices. If a prospect asks for a discount I simply show them the list and say, “Here are just some of the activities I must complete to earn my money. Why don’t you point out the things that you’d be willing to do instead of me. If you save me time then we can talk about saving you money because I earn every penny I get.” When confronted with a list that runs nearly ten pages long their eyes glaze over and they usually respond with something like, “You’re the expert, I expect you to do this work!” To which I simply say, “If you want me to do all of these activities on your behalf then you need to pay me what I’m worth. If you want to pay less, I’ll see if I can find someone who will do less and maybe they can save you some money.”

6. Educate Your Clients About How Much You Make. After speaking to thousands of agents all over the country for the past 15 years it’s clear to me that the average prospect is clueless about how your prices are determined, factoring in overhead and other expenses we have to run our businesses.
Most business owners face the reality of having to pay 33% federal, 10% state and 13.2% self-employment costing a total of 56.2%. As a result, clients often say, “Wow, you are underpaid for handling all these activities for me!” This was exactly my intent by taking the time to explain how I earn my money and how little I actually keep. This way they never try to cut my prices because they know that, like them, I earn my money and I don’t make as much as they may have previously thought.

7. Provide value that no one else offers. When prospects do business with me, they get a complete outline that explains my process from start to finish. It also includes samples, a list of service providers that could be involved in the process and much more. No other competing business offers any of these benefits, so if a client wants to work with me they must pay what I ask.

8. Reject price shoppers. Studies show that only 15-18% of people make their decision to purchase a product or service primarily based on price. This means that the majority of clients appreciate value and are willing to pay for it – if they see it.

Don’t forget that real professionals earn their money by helping clients maximize value, minimize costs, save time, and much more. If potential clients don’t appreciate this then feel free to refer them to your competition.
You don’t need every prospect and you certainly don’t need every buyer to be successful. If all someone wants is a cheap transaction, send them to a vendor who competes on price and wish them both luck!

The Fox Realtor is experienced in commercial real estate in Minnesota. Working with developers, investors, and institutions to realize their investment objectives using real estate. He can be contacted at mo@foxreg.com, and more information is available at www.foxreg.com

Have you ever wondered about your own funeral? How many people will attend and what do you imagine they will say about your life? Recently I read a story about a man named Alfred who had the rare opportunity to read his own obituary. Apparently the newspaper in Alfred’s hometown mistakenly believed that he had died and prematurely published his obituary. Alfred was a philanthropist who had made a fortune by inventing dynamite in 1866. In his obituary his invention was blamed for the death and mutilation of thousands of people. He was shocked and dismayed by the harsh manner in which he was portrayed. Alfred was determined to improve his public image and leave a better legacy. He wanted to be remembered as a man of science and of peace. When Alfred died in 1896, his will provided the major portion of his $9 million estate be set up as a fund to establish yearly prizes for merit in physics, chemistry, medicine and physiology, literature, and world peace.

Alfred’s last name you ask? Noble, Alfred Noble. The prize that bears his name is an international award given annually since 1901. Previous recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize include; Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Schweitzer, Henry Kissinger, and Theodore Roosevelt. Alfred did a remarkable job reestablishing his legacy. One century later we no longer associate the name Noble with destruction, but rather, with peace. What if Alfred Noble had never read his obituary? I believe it is never too late to improve your legacy. In India many years ago, a newspaper reporter interviewed Mahatma Gandhi. He asked Gandhi to give his readers a message that would inspire them. Gandhi smiled at the young reporter and replied, “My life is my message!” Consider what message you are giving your coworkers, customers, friends and family. Unlike Nobel, you may not be given the unique opportunity to read your own obituary, however, you are in a good position to influence what it will say. How do you choose to be remembered?

John Boe, based in Monterey, CA, helps companies recruit, train and motivate top-quality people. To view his online Video Demo or to have John Boe speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call (831) 375-3668.

With hundreds developments taken place in electronics almost every day, very few have proved to be more convenient and valuable than the launch of the netbook computer. The actual size of netbook computers is the most important reason that makes them so needed to the usual end user or business. Where notebooks are some what large to fit right on most people’s laps, netbook computers boast the perfect size and portability. Perhaps the best example to display this would be on either a train, or passenger jet whilst travelling to, or from your destination. In these instances, a netbook computer is indeed the more appropriate hardware to purchase, frequently being almost half the size of an average laptop. Find a large assortment of technology products such as; netbooks, sony televisions and panasonic televisions from leading brands online.

The actual size of these netbooks brings to light quite a few fears with regards to their display resolution. With such a small size, comes a small screen, so you may possibly want to ensure you obtain a model that has a sharp contrast ratio, and high resolution. This will save you from numerous head pains when trying to watch a presentation or a motion picture. Making sure you get the highest contrast ratio for your price range is very straightforward, for the most part because there are loads of websites that assess each netbook models against their opposition. This can provide valuable information when selecting a netbook computer.

This comparing of netbook computer models can be excellent in maximizing the quality of the hardware in the computer, & the price that you intend to spend. Hard drive space, wireless functionality and cost are several main qualities that you want to make sure you examine when buying a netbook computer. With such an assortment of different businesses putting out netbooks so far in 2009, there are several special offers around that you can catch just by undertaking ample homework before buying. Making sure you get the very best hardware for your budget is very important especially in this economic situation. Why not take the first steps towards upgrading your mobile computing experience. Get hold of a netbook & enter into the terrific world of convenience and portability that netbook computers deliver.

A contemporary review explained that less than half of Brit adults own life assurance policies. So when is the appropriate time to contemplate life cover?

The key suggestion is the sooner the more appropriate. It safeguards your family financially in the conceivable event of the unfavourable departure of adults and means money could be made reachable for dependents. But life assurance is not simply about defending your offspring’s financial security, those who don’t have young ones may vote to take out life assurance policies to certify that their companion is taken care of financially in the catastrophe of his or her dying.

There are four main life moments that routinely prompt one to find life insurance policies. The first is purchasing a new residence.

Buying a new house is a notably trying time, specially if it’s the 1st step in the advantageous housing ladder. And so this event will often be an excellent – and assuring – point to get life assurance, that may be put to use to pay off the home loan should the unimaginable occur to you or your husband or wife.

The second causing occurrence which fosters obtaining life insurance is formalising a relationship through coupling or perhaps a civil companionship. If you’ve recently sworn your constant passion to someone, it goes without saying that you would want to ensure they will be financially protected in the event that unimaginable occurs to you.

Having a child to provide for generates a whole novel dimension of encumbrance to one’s existence, and correspondingly this can be the third primary persuader for those purchasing life insurance policies. Ensuring that there’s a financial safety-net in place to safeguard one’s young ones can be of the absolute importance to any new mother or father.

Oftentimes after a separation individuals come to fully appreciate his or her financial worth and the need to keep his or her families financially secure more than ever before. Also if divorce leads to the removal of a joint life assurance policy the people involved will need to organise further insurance separately.