Top 7 Ways to Hold Your Prices

It is hard in, especially when times are tough, to hold your nerve and not cut prices. But slashing costs is nearly always a short term solution that gives you long term problems. Here are 7 tips to help you hold your prices.

1. Start negotiations high. It may sound obvious, but if your initial price is low, when negotiations start there is no room for maneuver. Don’t believe that if you give an honest price that people won’t negotiate – they will!
   
   
2. Negotiate on other terms not core price – if you want a 2 year deal, start with 3 or 5 and be prepared to come down rather than offering 2 to start with. If you want to sell 50 of your product, start with a package of 100 and work down from there.
   
   
3. Be clear on what makes you better than your competitors and how that benefits your customers. Be prepared to stick to that throughout – why should your price be the same if you offer more?
   
   
4. Build a low price offer on a standard product – then make money on all the add-ons, for example: postage, subscription services, hand-delivery, out of hours support, unique products and services and so on.
   
   
5. If you add new services, improve products and so on, make sure your customers know about it – and what it is worth.
   
   
6. Focus on customers who are not only driven by price – there are plenty of people out there who want the best service or better products not the cheapest.
   
   
7. Believe in your business! Don’t fall for short term sales that does not build your business long term profit. You may lose the occasional sale if you hold your prices, but you will gain in the long run.

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