Pricing Strategies for Revenue Success
The Most Important Part of Your Business
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1. Getting Accurate Comparisons
It’s important to create strategies for pricing that make sense from a sales perspective. What you need to consider is how you’re SIMILAR to the competition and how you’re DIFFERENT. To do this, it’s necessary to get the accurate pricing of your competitors. How do you do this?
Well, one way would be to ask your competitors to trade media kits, with the idea that you’re working together for the greater good. Are they going to cooperate, however? Unlikely.
So another option is to create a recon email address/alternate persona for communicating with the competition. Then put together a competitive grid/matrix in Excel and compare everyone.
2. Train Your Sales Team
It’s crucial to know your competition’s weaknesses and strengths and prep, prep, prep! Train your sales team. Now, contrary to popular belief, you’re most experienced salespeople are often the ones that need to be trained the most. Years in the business can create blinders or tunnel vision, and it’s important to keep an open mind.
3. Pricing
First of all, what are YOU doing that’s SO different to justify the higher price? You need to have ROCK SOLID FACTS to back it up. Stats, facts and stories–all are crucial to explain your pricing and why your service is worth it.
Secondly, don’t keep thinking that your competition “always discounts.” What does that even mean? You need accurate statistics and details because often advertisers will even lie about discounts they’re getting from your competition to get a discount from YOU. Don’t fall into the “discount trap”; get the nitty gritty on what’s really going down.
Another tip: Price per quarter.
4. Show More Value
No matter what your competition’s price is, explain why YOU have more value with your questions, your voicemails and your spreadsheets. Show why YOU provide more bang for their buck.
Some secrets to show more value include not showing “a la carte” or “per unit” pricing. Also, beef up your digital pricing.
Finally, your prices have to LOOK right. When it comes to tricks, this is an oldie but a goodie. No matter how you spin it, $19.99 looks less expensive than $20 while $2395 looks cheaper than $2400.
5. Stop Apologizing
Don’t be hesitant and don’t be apologetic about your pricing if you have the FACTS to back it up.
6. Create Co-op Programs
If these don’t exist for a client, create them. Allow a local retailer to run ads and a national manufacturer to pay for them.
7. Drop Frequency
It’s an oft-misunderstood concept , but it’s the way it’s always been done. Eliminate confusion and offer multimedia discounts and the best print price you have. Make it easy.
8. Path of Least Resistance
Stop assuming advertisers are going to understand your pricing and create sales offers that are straight-forward, easy to understand and offer VALUE. Don’t blame your competition.
9. Keep in mind the 4 Pillars of Sales Success
That’s:
Product.
Process.
People.
Price.
Ryan Dohrn is the CEO of Brain Swell Media LLC. Ryan founded Brain Swell after 15 years in the mainstream publishing and media industry. Ryan is an Emmy award winning TV producer, has overseen over 3,000 Web site builds, is a nationally acclaimed speaker, has been featured in USA Today, on ABC, CBS, FOX TV stations, on Forbes.com and has personally impacted millions of dollars in online and related media revenues for media companies large and small.
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