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ARTICLE
You should only be discounting to encourage buyer behavior that isn't happening on its own. If enough customers want what you're selling (and remember that you're selling results, not products and services), then you shouldn't have to offer discounts to get them to buy.
Some companies already do that successfully. If I asked you to name a company that doesn't discount, what company comes to mind? For many people, it would be Apple. However, they do offer discounts to certain groups: active military, teachers, students, their employees, and even friends and families of their employees. Surprised? If you don't fit into any of those categories you wouldn’t know those discounts exist.
The rest of us pay full price for our Apple products, not because we have to - there are lots and lots of other computers, phones, and tablets out there. We do it because we want the results and experience that we perceive we can only get with Apple.
It's our loyalty to the brand. This article was written mostly on an iPad Air, likely at 37,000 feet on one of my many flights. I know that I could have done this on a Microsoft Surface Tablet or any kind of laptop or desktop computer. Yet I chose to buy an iPad (I think it’s my 4th or 5th one), wear an Apple Watch (easily my 3rd or 4th), use an iPhone (I’ve lost count of how many of those I’ve had), and use Mac desktop and MacBook Pro laptops, without getting a discount. Even if you didn't get a discount from a company, that doesn't mean no one did.
If you’ve ever wanted the latest and greatest product from a company when it first hit the market, you probably paid full price, if not more. Those people are called early adopters and they just have to have it first (sounds like many DJs I know). An economist called Thorsten Veblen said that some goods are more desirable because of their high price and limited availability. Those same goods become less desirable when the price comes down. People who can afford a Birkin handbag, with some going for £10,000, even £20,000 or more, wouldn't want them if the price were £1,500.
If you want to dine at The French Laundry, a restaurant in Napa California, you'll usually have to make your reservation six months to a year in advance, pre-pay for it when you make the reservation, and shell out (as of this writing) $350, $400 or more per person for your dinner (including service charge, but before beverages). When I last looked, their courtyard seating, at $450 per person, was sold out. Their special themed dinners are $1,200 per person.
Some companies intentionally keep the supply tight to increase the demand. Do you think they discount? I don't think so either. I get that most of you reading this aren't in that pricing stratosphere. But it's not the high price that makes them not need to discount. It's simply supply and demand. If you want the latest car model when it first comes out, you'll likely be asked for a premium over the window price. As the customer, it's your choice to pay it, or not, regardless of the price.
Does your need (or want) outweigh your desire for a discount? Needing something puts you in a defensive position in a negotiation. During the pandemic, when car inventories were very low, dealers were asking for, and getting, many thousands above window price. Why? Supply and demand. Also, they need to maximise their profits when they have fewer cars to sell.
When you're doing the selling, you get to set the price, and it's the couple, client or customer that determines the value. If they pay the price you ask, then they perceive it to be a good value for the results they'll get.
If you have to discount to get them to buy, either they don't perceive the value to be equal to or greater than the price you're asking, or you're selling on price, not the unique results that only you and your team can provide even if, or rather especially if you're a team of one. I believe that if you're going to discount, there should be a clear structure. Assuming you have good sales skills (or have started to implement some of the ideas in my sales books: 'Shut Up and Sell More Weddings & Events' and 'Stop Selling and Help Them Buy Weddings and Events' – which is where this article first appeared), look to see which products and services are not selling now.
There are many reasons why products and services don't sell. If they're no longer in fashion, discounting will encourage some people to buy, but not everyone. A wedding dress shop can sell last season's designs at a discount and some brides will be OK with that. Others will pay more to have the latest styles. A car dealer can discount last year's model when the new ones come out to get them off the books. Is this more of an issue with physical products than services? Are you trying to sell services that today's clients, customers, and couples don't want? Have you updated the results that you provide to adapt to a changing market? Colours and trends change and we have to adapt to them.
I used to sell DVDs with some of my presentations on them. Then, one day no one wanted DVDs anymore. So, I changed to audio CDs, and that worked well, for a while. You could put the audio onto your phone, tablet, or computer and listen anywhere. Then computers stopped coming with drives that could play the CDs. So now I have USB flash drives that have the same audio content as the CDs.
When people buy in my online shop, www.ShopAlanBerg.com, I offer them the option of a flash drive or downloading the files. When you're buying at my stand at a conference or trade show, the flash drive is a physical manifestation of the audio you bought. It's tangible. Sure, I can give you a download link, but it just feels better to have something in your hand when you buy.
So, what are some buying behaviors that you might encourage by using discounting? Off...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
Some companies already do that successfully. If I asked you to name a company that doesn't discount, what company comes to mind? For many people, it would be Apple. However, they do offer discounts to certain groups: active military, teachers, students, their employees, and even friends and families of their employees. Surprised? If you don't fit into any of those categories you wouldn’t know those discounts exist.
The rest of us pay full price for our Apple products, not because we have to - there are lots and lots of other computers, phones, and tablets out there. We do it because we want the results and experience that we perceive we can only get with Apple.
It's our loyalty to the brand. This article was written mostly on an iPad Air, likely at 37,000 feet on one of my many flights. I know that I could have done this on a Microsoft Surface Tablet or any kind of laptop or desktop computer. Yet I chose to buy an iPad (I think it’s my 4th or 5th one), wear an Apple Watch (easily my 3rd or 4th), use an iPhone (I’ve lost count of how many of those I’ve had), and use Mac desktop and MacBook Pro laptops, without getting a discount. Even if you didn't get a discount from a company, that doesn't mean no one did.
If you’ve ever wanted the latest and greatest product from a company when it first hit the market, you probably paid full price, if not more. Those people are called early adopters and they just have to have it first (sounds like many DJs I know). An economist called Thorsten Veblen said that some goods are more desirable because of their high price and limited availability. Those same goods become less desirable when the price comes down. People who can afford a Birkin handbag, with some going for £10,000, even £20,000 or more, wouldn't want them if the price were £1,500.
If you want to dine at The French Laundry, a restaurant in Napa California, you'll usually have to make your reservation six months to a year in advance, pre-pay for it when you make the reservation, and shell out (as of this writing) $350, $400 or more per person for your dinner (including service charge, but before beverages). When I last looked, their courtyard seating, at $450 per person, was sold out. Their special themed dinners are $1,200 per person.
Some companies intentionally keep the supply tight to increase the demand. Do you think they discount? I don't think so either. I get that most of you reading this aren't in that pricing stratosphere. But it's not the high price that makes them not need to discount. It's simply supply and demand. If you want the latest car model when it first comes out, you'll likely be asked for a premium over the window price. As the customer, it's your choice to pay it, or not, regardless of the price.
Does your need (or want) outweigh your desire for a discount? Needing something puts you in a defensive position in a negotiation. During the pandemic, when car inventories were very low, dealers were asking for, and getting, many thousands above window price. Why? Supply and demand. Also, they need to maximise their profits when they have fewer cars to sell.
When you're doing the selling, you get to set the price, and it's the couple, client or customer that determines the value. If they pay the price you ask, then they perceive it to be a good value for the results they'll get.
If you have to discount to get them to buy, either they don't perceive the value to be equal to or greater than the price you're asking, or you're selling on price, not the unique results that only you and your team can provide even if, or rather especially if you're a team of one. I believe that if you're going to discount, there should be a clear structure. Assuming you have good sales skills (or have started to implement some of the ideas in my sales books: 'Shut Up and Sell More Weddings & Events' and 'Stop Selling and Help Them Buy Weddings and Events' – which is where this article first appeared), look to see which products and services are not selling now.
There are many reasons why products and services don't sell. If they're no longer in fashion, discounting will encourage some people to buy, but not everyone. A wedding dress shop can sell last season's designs at a discount and some brides will be OK with that. Others will pay more to have the latest styles. A car dealer can discount last year's model when the new ones come out to get them off the books. Is this more of an issue with physical products than services? Are you trying to sell services that today's clients, customers, and couples don't want? Have you updated the results that you provide to adapt to a changing market? Colours and trends change and we have to adapt to them.
I used to sell DVDs with some of my presentations on them. Then, one day no one wanted DVDs anymore. So, I changed to audio CDs, and that worked well, for a while. You could put the audio onto your phone, tablet, or computer and listen anywhere. Then computers stopped coming with drives that could play the CDs. So now I have USB flash drives that have the same audio content as the CDs.
When people buy in my online shop, www.ShopAlanBerg.com, I offer them the option of a flash drive or downloading the files. When you're buying at my stand at a conference or trade show, the flash drive is a physical manifestation of the audio you bought. It's tangible. Sure, I can give you a download link, but it just feels better to have something in your hand when you buy.
So, what are some buying behaviors that you might encourage by using discounting? Off...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 122, Pages 48-50.
