How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors
by Lawrence L. Steinmetz, PhD and William T. Brooks
Published by John Wiley
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Reviewed by Bob Pike CSP, CPAE-Speakers Hall of Fame
For those who have ever heard the words, "You'll have to do better than that," this book is for you. Steinmetz and Brooks effectively make the case that margin is the key to a successful business--not volume. And more than that, cutting price is very similar to cutting your throat, though not as visible.
How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors is filled with very clear illustrations of the cost of price-cutting--and the impact on the bottom line. Would you believe that a small thing like a 10% discount on 35% margin can require nearly double the sales volume to make up the profit lost? Or that raising prices 10% on 35% margin can allow sales to go down by 34% and give you the same level of profitability? It's true and this book spells out with clear examples just why it is true.
But more than that, the book illustrates why buyers try to beat up sales people on price--and all the other things that buyers want and need, such as on-time delivery, quality, service, etc.--that most often are far more important than price. This book will help any CEO, sales manager, or sales person learn how to think more clearly about pricing and all the other issues that are critical to selling, serving, and keeping the customers and clients you most want to have.
You'll also learn:
-- Why you should never use adjectives or adverbs when discussing price.
-- What your buyer is telling you when they use the subjunctive mood. Hearing this grammar term may make your head hurt, but the authors make it easy to understand in a business context--and understanding it means money in your pocket!
-- What your buyer is telling you when they use if, unless, and either-or.
-- How to sell at your price even when your competition is cutting theirs.
Armchair Interviews says: Even if you don't like grammar you'll find understanding these simple things critical to success in selling at the right price. The book even has chapters that cover how to know when your price really is too high or too low--and what to do about it.