If buyers only care about price…whom do we have to blame?

“I can’t raise prices, the only thing that buyers care about is the price.” That’s the refrain I hear from audience after audience of business leaders today.

Is that really true? Do customers only care about price? Yes, it’s true – because we’ve trained them to focus on price. That happened well before the economy tanked. So let’s not blame the economy for a monster of our own creation.

The reality is that the vast majority of buyers are value buyers. The problem is that we’re not educating them about the value we provide or we’re not really providing the value they desire. Either way we’re causing them become more price conscious.

The typical retort I get is “In this economy buyers are deciding only on price.” Why might that be? Could it be that the vast majority of business owners/CEOs have resorted to heavy discounts to salvage market share? If so, what better question to ask than Dr. Phil’s “How’s that workin’ for ya?”

Not well at all. Most business owners/CEOs report declining sales despite heavy discounting. They see their markets shrinking and they’re afraid to charge higher prices for fear of losing even more sales. What these business leaders fail to realize is that buyers become more value conscious, not more price conscious, in a down economy. What that means is that we, as sellers, have to become even better at communicating value than we were in better times. Here’s an example to illustrate my point.

A steel fabricator for the construction industry said that the discounting had become so severe that some jobs were going for single digit profit margins. I asked him the following questions:

“When your customers choose a low-price competitor, are the materials they get within specifications?”

“No,” he answered.

“When the materials are out of spec what are the implications?”

“Delays, additional overtime costs, the temptation to make it work.”

“Do those delays cost your customers additional money?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“What about the customer’s relationship with his buyer. Do these problems have the potential to create friction with his customer?”

“Of course,” he replied.

“In an economy like this, how costly would it be to lose future business from that customer?”

You get the point. A few simple questions can help the buyer see the value of a higher upfront price over the costs, or more importantly, loss of future revenues.

It’s counter-intuitive, but when all of your competitors are discounting heavily in failed attempts to gain business you can distinguish yourself by selling value. Buyers will appreciate the fact that your helping them make an informed decision. They’ll value you even more highly when you show them how to do the same with their customers.

Dale Furtwengler helps businesses get higher prices regardless of what their competitors or the economy are doing. His book, Pricing for Profit, debuted in 7 countries – the U.S., Canada, U.K., Italy, France and Germany. A Chinese translation is underway. The release date for the Chinese edition hasn’t been set.

To discover how you can get higher prices for your products and services, call Dale at 314-707-3771.

Basket gardens have always been a good seller for my floral stop. They can be made in any size basket for any occasion. They can be decorated in many ways. I am talking about basket gardens with indoor plants, and maybe a blooming plant or two.

You can start with any size basket. If you want the basket a different color, spray the basket now. Next, you will need to line the basket if it is not already lined. You can line a basket several different ways. Hard plastic liners can be bought from your wholesaler or craft store. These are vey nice and probably my first choice. Another way to line a basket is to cut thick polyplastic sheeting to fit the basket. Cut larger than the basket and loosely put into basket, being careful not to puncture a hole in the plastic. You could either hot glue the plastic to the top of the basket or sew with thread with large stitches to the top of the basket. Now you have your liner.

Next, you want to select your plant materials. You will want to have some taller plants in the background, with medium height plants next. Then in the front you may want to have some low trailing plants and maybe a blooming plant such as an African violet. It is nice to include variegated plants or plants with unique textures such as in the peperomia family for additional visual interest.

A good mix of soil for indoor garden baskets would be a good potting soil, adding vermiculite and perlite. Mix all together. I would say a gallon of potting soil with one cup each vermiculite and perlite. This would be a good ratio of mediums. Fill the basket at least about three fourths full of the potting soil mix. Start by planting the tall plants in the back, add soil around and tuck in tight. Then add the medium plants, probably two or three, and add more soil all around. You might end with trailing plant or two, and a blooming plant. Make sure plants are firmly placed in basket with no air pockets. Add soil all around plants as needed; finish planting by adding either Spanish moss or green sheet moss. The moss makes the basket look complete, professional and finished.

Next, you will want to decorate the basket. This can be done in so many, many ways. Fresh flowers in water tubes can be picked among the plants. This will make the basket nice and springy. Tall curly willow branches can be added. A little stuffed animal for the appropriate occasion can be added. Balloons can be picked into the garden. Tie a coordinating bow of the many different colors and textures of ribbons available on the market today. These baskets can be decorated for spring, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, the autumn season; essentially all occasions. They are also an excellent interior decorating accent for a home or office.

Care instructions over all will be medium light; do not overwater, as the basket does not have drainage. Overwatering will rot the plants. As the plants grow, they may need to be transplanted into their own container. Do not get cold. Wrap during delivery in the winter months. Be sure to include a basket garden care tag with care instructions for the recipient. John Henry Floral has a most wonderful line of florist tags, care tags, and stationery. Check out their website to help brand your shop with products your flower shop cannot survive without.

Debra is a professional florist and consultant. She loves to design flowers, jewelry, and home interiors. She is an avid floral design instructor. Debra aspires to use the art of designing flowers in conjunction with healing from abuse and domestic violence. If anyone has any specific questions on floral topics they may email me at moabflowers@live.com. I will be glad to begin an initial consultation on the floral business. Debra also has a blog Floral Design and would love to hear from all.

In the morning an Anderson in the morning an Anderson
Level: Basic PLUS

Dawn is the Creative Director/Web Marketer for rescue capital. She has worked within the financial industry for several years at j.p Morgan Chase…

Starting from this time to think about possible new year’s resolutions every year millions of Americans. While some people resolve to smoking stop or lose weight, others choose to improve your finances. Instead of vague, unrealistic goal to create try create a simple plan of attack that can be easily reached.

The top 10 ways to increase your finances are:
Make a budget – create a budget and stick to it. This helps you to break the cycle of life paycheck to paycheck. The best way to do this is to look at how much money comes in and goes for a period of 30 days. Use our handy household calculator to help you get started.Reduce costs – can pay your phone bill, but you spend $ 15-$ 20 per day between coffee and snacks. Looking for ways to reduce spending BREW at home like your coffee, packing a lunch, switching mobile phone carriers and clipping coupons.Pay off debt-do you know how much money you on behalf on your credit card company numbers? By reducing or eliminating your debt savings not only paid the interest you have, will the money to save for your future. You have to a structured settlement, it may be beneficial, annuity, pending lawsuit or other illiquid assets some future payments sell, to pay your debts.Create a help fund – Have 6 months worth of monthly expenses just in case, they fall on hard times? If not, you must create a fund to protect yourself from behind on your duties, if you lose your income. Some people have created their emergency fund by using a part of their cash package in an interest bearing account.Save money – You are going to need a new car soon? Maybe you want to take a vacation next year. Maybe you need home to make repairs. Instead of buying more debt, save your purchases and pay bar.Saving for retirement – the sooner you save for retirement, will be the better for you. If your employer offers matching 401(k), make sure you use this opportunity for free money.Protect your assets – make sure that home care to help it retain their value. Remember you don’t have a will to ensure you decide how your assets like your home, pension or other assets distributes the Government.Get insurance – Your apartment, House, car and other valuables in case of theft, damage or loss must be protected. If you insured not properly may not have enough money are to repair or replace you. If you support children must have, after you are gone, make sure that you have life insurance.Protect your identity – Identity not to mention theft harmful can be costly for your credit score. Monitor your credit report. Check your accounts for unauthorized transactions. Shred documents rather than to throw in the trash. Shop online at credible merchants and pay pal. Manage credit/credit score use – enable your credit report every six months. Make sure that you pay your bills on time and avoid the use of credit cards when possible. Some experts say to prevent your credit card that impulse to fix purchases.

These are a few suggestions on how to improve your financial Outlook for 2011. Visit the rescue capital site for tools that help you get started.

This article was viewed 28 times.
Article submitted on: December 17, 2010

Please visit Personal Business !
Search category in Business | Finance