For those of you who don’t know, I have worked with a lot of local businesses. I also used to own a localized service business. One common problem I had and all others have is trying to tell people how much better our service/product is better than the others.

I have yet to talk to a business owner who does not think badly about their competition. Usually it’s more of…  a "it’s not as good", "they are not insured", "they hire illegal immigrants"…. or whatever else they think should matter to people.

The problem is that if we start off our conversation with people warning them that everyone else sucks we create a non-conducive buying environment.

We turn them off, even if it is true. I have just witnessed a GREAT commercial showing you how to give a competitor a stick in the ribs… without looking bad in the process. Take this idea and see if you can do something like it in your ads.

Go get some

Paul

Watch how marketing superstar Eben Pagen deals with creating a headline

When I am writing someones sales page I need to research their product or service.

A lot of the time I see a lot of value in what they offer, yet they charge almost nothing…. and then lump on a bunch of bonuses or freebies.

I had a client with a business selling plans for building a contraption for car enthusiasts. I took one look at his price and… 

raised it without even seeing anything.

Actually, I almost doubled the price. I knew he was positioning his products as "poor mans plans" and I don’t see a profitable outcome there.

He about crapped his overhauls but he raised the price and sales INCREASED.

Obviously writing him a new sales page helped, but we were not hitting a new target market. These were the "tightwads" he believed would not pay more.

If you’re going to sell a product or service think about the price. Experiment with a higher price point first. Let the market tell you what sounds good.

For those of you writing your own ads, really look at the value of what you are offering. Convey the value with a justifiable price and sales will increase.

I am not saying raising prices is the answer to more sales, but most focus on how cheap it is. They focus on cheap and so does the customer.

I see WAY too many under-priced offers out there. It cost no more to sell something for $57 than it does $17.

Don’t jump over the dollars to get to the dimes.

go get some

Paul

Please feel free to leave your thoughts on this. I would love to hear what you think.