As I stood outside the auditorium after my recent speech in Toronto, a striking grey-haired man beelined toward me and made a comment that made me twing. “I need a word with you. Stay here.” I immediately began worrying. Had my speech offended him? He returned from the rest room and began his apparent complaint. [...]
You don’t make things for your living. Instead, you make it providing something: a service. You are in service marketing. How do you sell that? To understand how, first compare your task to your car salesperson’s. The person didn’t have to do much, no? You felt the smooth finish and the soothing comfort of the [...]
View Post Geek Squad, marketing a service, marketing intangibles, Prudential Financial, selling intangibles, Selling the Invisible, TwitterA Nashville man was suffering a persistent problem with his kitchen floor: it squeaked like a peeved mouse. No matter what he tried, nothing worked. Hearing of the man’s plight, a friend told him, “Call my friend. He’s a carpenter and a true craftsman.” That afternoon the craftsman arrived at the poor fellow’s house, walked [...]
View Post how to price your service, pricing services, Selling the Invisible, the carpenter corollary, the picasso principle, tips on pricingWelcome to another strange but true story–told to me twice at the annual meeting of one of America’s premier consulting firms. This story begins on a sunny September afternoon in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. An experienced consultant named David called on a Fortune 500 prospect. The prospect was impressed, but balked at David’s $1,750 per [...]
View Post Cherry Hill, consulting firm fees, fees, Franklin Lakes, How to price your services, how to set your price, New York City, Polo Ralph Lauren, price as a placebo effect, price placebo effect, prices, pricing, Ralph Lauren, Selling the Invisible, settinng consulting fees, tips on pricing, Yankee Stadium