Here are 3 phone questions you get all of the time. The caller asks:
1. “How much do you charge for board?” or,
2. “How much do you charge for riding lessons?” or
“How much do you charge to train a horse?”
Your palms sweat and your head aches as you begin to recite your price list for the 18th time this week. You feel if your price isn’t as low as the competition’s, then you’ll lose the prospect forever right on this phone call.
These prospects use an approach similar to finding the cheapest seat on an airline for their next Disney World visit. It’s a research mission based entirely on price. Seats on a jet are a commodity. They are all pretty much the same.
You sell unique services that aren’t commodities.
Choosing to be the lowest priced professional horseman is a choice that will guarantee you many new customers and a long list of former customers. When price is the main decision factor, you’ll find that your clients come and go on a rapid basis. What does that mean for you? It means you’re miserable because: you’re always overworked trying to save on labor, you’re stressed about not having enough money to maintain the business and you are emotionally drained putting up with client demands for first class service at steerage prices.
I’m a big fan of marketing expert and author Seth Godin. Seth writes books with a non- traditional viewpoint about marketing. Okay, admittedly, he’s a little wacky some of the time as he makes his points. Read “Purple Cow” to understand the concept of having remarkable products and services. Seth makes a good point about being cheap as a marketing strategy here.
He writes, “Cheaper is the last refuge of the person who’s not a very good marketer.
Cheaper is easy and cheaper is fast and cheaper is linear and cheaper is easy to do properly, at least at first.
But cheaper doesn’t spread the word (unless you are much cheaper, but to be much cheaper, you need to be organized from the ground up, like Wal- Mart or Jet Blue, to be cheaper).
They are, you’re not.”
So you are not Wal*Mart! You aren’t even selling retail goods. You are selling all or parts of a “BLT” (Boarding, Lessons, Training). And best of all, Wal*Mart will never be your competitor.
Which means that your prices don’t have to be the lowest.
Never the lowest price, always.
Market You. That is what your clients will pay for. Your brand is only available from your business.
Get out of the cheap seats, and find clients who want your brand.
They are out there. Clients are willing to pay more for friendly service, clean stalls, a regular feed schedule, ample bedding, kind voices during riding instruction, a horse trained from the fundamentals first, with advanced training to follow.
The answer to “how much do you charge” can also be,
“Our rates are reasonable, but I’ll tell you right now they are not the lowest. You’ll find the reason for that is because we are high on service. The best way for you to find out about our programs is to make an appointment to visit and find out if our program is right for you. When would you like to visit?”
Become a marketer; stop being a discounter.