The World is a Mirror, Part 22

A is for ATTITUDE
B is for BREAK PATTERNS
C is for CONSISTENCY
D is for DISCIPLINE
E is for EVOLUTION
F is for FRIENDLINESS
G is for GOOD WITH NAMES
H is for HAPPINESS
I is for IDEAS
J is for JOY
K is for KNOWLEDGE
L is for LAUGHTER
M is for MUNDANE
N is for NAMETAGS
O is for OFF BUTTON
P is for PAINT YOURSELF INTO A (GOOD) CORNER
Q is for QUICK
R is for RUDE PEOPLE
S is for SERVICE
T is for TIME
U is for UNIQUE
V is for VALUE

Went out to a fancy schmancy dinner the other night. Learned a great sales lesson from John, our excellent waiter.

“Our special this evening is pistachio encrusted red snapper, seared to perfection with a caramelized onion glaze, rice pilaf and two garlic butter crab claws.”

Good god. How could I NOT order that?

“Sold!” I said.

“Very good, Scott.”

As expected, the dish was amazing. Probably one of the best meals I’ve had all year.

Then I got the bill.

“Holy crap!” I exclaimed to my girlfriend. “You know how much that snapper was?”

“Thirty-five dollars.”

“Wow,” she said. “Did the waiter ever mention the price?”

“Hmm. I…I don’t think so. I guess the dish sounded so good when he told me about it that I didn’t even consider the price.”

“Yeah, but here’s the thing: would you have ordered the special if the waiter said how much it was?” she asked.

Interesting.

Honestly, I don’t think I would have. If John would have said, “Well our special tonight is thirty-five dollars. It’s pistachio encrusted…”

Um, no. I’ll just have the chicken sandwich.

By the time we returned home from dinner, I figured out the lesson: always sell value before price.

When you sell value first, price isn’t an issue.
When you sell value first, customers will gladly fork it over.
When you sell value first, you appeal to customers’ emotions, not their wallets.

Once the customer sees that you and your product are the perfect fit, price won’t matter.

It reminds me of what Marc LeBlanc says: Get the fist.

“The fist” means someone hears your pitch, your value proposition; then they slam their fist down on the table and said, “Man, we gotta get THAT!”

Always sell value before price. Get the fist.

Oh, and if you ever make it over to Charlie Gito’s, get the snapper.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do you “get the fist”?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your best “value before price” story here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
Author/Speaker/That Guy with the Nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com

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