“The cheapest thing about an airplane is the owner.”
– Overheard at an aviation trade show.
“I do these radio remotes and free barbecues with cheap discovery flights several times a year. It’s great advertising – we get lots of media coverage, we have a ton of people show up. But most of them just eat the free food and maybe go for a discovery flight if they can split the cost between three people, and then we never hear from them again.”
-Frustrated flight school owner
“Our product will easily pay for itself in the amount they’ll save in mechanic labor alone in six months. And yet they still argue with me about price.”
– Frustrated component distributor
It’s a paradox in aviation – you would think the consumers of aviation products and services would be a little more concerned with quality and safety, and less concerned with saving nickels as they sometimes appear to be.
If you seem to be attracting freebie-seekers and cheapskates, here are a few things to consider:
- Do your marketing materials position your product as the lowest-cost alternative? (Being the low-price leader is a scary place to be unless you have the buying power of Wal-Mart, and nobody in aviation has that kind of advantage.) It’s much better if your USP (unique selling proposition) is based on the highest quality or the best service or something more difficult for a competitor to replicate.
- Are you rewarding bad behavior? By offering freebies or deep discounts on a regular basis, you’re teaching would – be consumers to wait for your sales or special events, and eroding the integrity of your pricing. (Why is it worth $1000 if you were selling it for $600 during your sale last week?)
- Sometimes (probably most of the time) it’s too expensive” or “I can’t afford it” is just shorthand for “You haven’t yet convinced me of the value.”
Time to go to work on your sales and marketing materials and processes. It’s better to have half as many leads, if they are more likely to be willing and able to pay for your product or service...
Paula and John …. Your point about rewarding bad behavior is spot on. There is one retail establishment that I will not shop at until I get their coupons in the mail – I know if I wait a few weeks (at most), I will get a coupon for 10%-20% off. My thinking is (as you stated) “why should I pay full price?” I do price shop just to be sure I am getting the lowest price.
Also, it was easy for me to get defensive when someone raised objections, and my reaction was to push my benefits (and yes the thought of offering a discount entered my mind). I have since changed my perspective to “OK I haven’t stressed how your life will be better after using my services” . In other words, there was a disconnect on what I was saying and what they were hearing. Time to step back and listen, regroup and research, and rephrase.
You presented three areas that are good (constant) reminders. Thanks!
I took a professional sales training class where they taught me how to deal with this situation. Simply ask the prospect what feature or benefit they don’t want or need, and you’ll happily not provide it and will pass along the savings. They taught me never cut the price…instead offer to reduce the service.
Great advice, Mike! Especially with products that are hard to divide- (Which part of the charter flight would you like us to leave out? The last 500 feet down to the runway?)
All kidding aside, I think this frames the conversation in the best possible way- getting the client to think in terms of value they’re receiving, as well as simpily the price tag.