Pricing Tactics

By Robert C. Brenner

A treasure chest of tips, tricks, and techniques for maximizing profit. Here are tactical actions to help you reach or exceed your strategic pricing objectives. This book describes pricing issues common to business professionals in any industry. Pricing is where the "rubber meets the road." Price is king and it's often the driving force in attracting and retaining clients and customers. Read how small business owners thrive during any economic condition. Read about raising prices, cutting prices, how to use price specials such as coupons, allowances, and discounts, and how to apply price adjustments. Calculate the sales needed to make a price change work. Understand when a price is needed. Learn the best ways to handle a price increase, how much you can raise your price, stealth pricing, and how to handling price objections and bottom-fishing cheap buyers. Recognize when you should turn down that job opportunity and know when your price is right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert C. Brenner
• Release date: Sep 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781930199231

Robert C. Brenner

Robert Brenner is an engineer, consultant, college professor, historical genealogist, and professional speaker with extensive experience in research and information publishing. A retired naval officer with distinguished service in both nuclear submarines and microelectronic research and development, he holds a bachelor's degree (BSEE) and two master's degrees (MSEE, MSSM). He was recognized a Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) microelectronics pioneer by the DOD and served four years in R&D at TRW after a 23-year Navy career.He is the author of 56 books including Going Solar: a Homeowner’s Experience, Power Up! The Smart Guide to Home Solar Power: How to Make a Wise Solar Investment, How to Construct (and Use) the 45W Harbor Freight Solar Kit, Supernatural & Strange Happenings in the Bible, and Supernatural & Strange Happenings in the Family. In addition, he has written over 275 articles including over 50 articles for Survival Life.com and Survivorpedia.He taught computer technology and engineering subjects at the community college, university, and graduate school levels and has been a guest speaker at over 50 national conferences and symposiums. He is an avid supporter of solar technology and learns by doing. A futurist, he enjoys the challenge of research and is currently sharing his findings through his writing and public presentations. Professor Brenner can be reached at [e-mail].

Book preview

Pricing Tactics

Increase Sales - Maximize Profit

Robert C. Brenner, MSEE, MSSM

Published by

Brenner Information Group

Smashwords Edition

ISBN 978-1-930199-23-1

Copyright 2013 Brenner Information Group. All rights reserved. Brief quotations of the material in this book may be used in other books, broadcast and print media, and presentations, provided full prominent credit is given as follows: "From Pricing Tactics: Increase Sales - Maximize Profit by Robert Brenner. Published by Brenner Information Group." For larger excerpts or reprint rights, contact the publisher.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

About This Book

This book contains ideas and techniques for reaching and possibly exceeding your pricing objectives. Pricing Tactics explains product and service pricing from a profit perspective. Read how owners survive and thrive during both good and bad economic times. In this book you’ll learn:

- How to price it right the first time.

- When to raise price. How to know it’s time.

- How to handle a price increase.

- How some sellers hide a price increase.

- How much you can raise price without resistance.

- How to handle objections to your new price.

- When to know it’s time to reduce your price.

- Best ways to actually cut your price.

- Coupons, checks, rebates, discounts, and allowances.

- Calculating the additional sales needed to make a price cut work.

- How to handle a price cut.

- Suggested response when buyers ask for a price break.

- Bottom feeders - price fishing in action.

- When to turn down that sale.

- Retainer pricing and cancellation fees.

- How to price the same job for a new client.

These techniques make earning the most profit from every sale both possible and probable.

Make your pricing strategy successful by applying these good pricing tactics.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Tactical Pricing Actions

Overcoming Pricing Problems

Pricing It Right the First Time

Pricing Is a Policy

How to Charge Work

Incorporating Other Charges

Reducing Your Price

Coupons

Send Them a Check

Rebates

Discounts and Allowances

Volume Discounts

Discounting and the Law

Calculating Sales Needed to Make a Price Cut Work

The Capacity Trap

When Price Cutting Works

How to Handle a Price Cut

When Buyers Ask for a Price Break

Raising Prices

How to Know When it’s Time to Raise Prices

How to Handle a Price Increase

The Transition from Free to Paid Service

How Much Can You Raise Prices?

Subtle Ways to Raise Prices

Handling Objections to a Price Increase

Ways to Hide a Price Increase

When the Price Seems Too High

Overcoming Problems in Service

Bottom Feeders: Price Fishing in Action

When to Turn Down a Job

How to Handle Clients from Hell

When Your Customer is Dissatisfied

Charging a Minimum Rate

Setup Fees

When to Charge for Rush Jobs

Charging for Alterations & Corrections

Retainer Pricing

Termination: Cancellation Fees

How to Price the Same Job for a New Client

Choosing the Right Price

Pricing Tactics for Recessionary Times

Break Out Top Profits in a Recession

Summary

Introduction

The information that you’re holding is a treasure chest of tips, tricks, and techniques for maximizing profit. It explains tactical actions to help you reach or exceed your strategic pricing objectives.

Having been in the business for years and participated in numerous forums, workshops, and seminars, I’ve collected and organized information that addresses situations encountered by small business owners. This book discusses pricing issues common to business professionals in any industry. Here’s how we’ve survived and thrived by applying smart pricing policies during both good and bad economic times.

Tactical Pricing Actions

Price is where the rubber meets the road. It is the principal factor determining whether you’ll still be in business next year.

After collecting information on your market, and finding break-even and margin, you can use tactical actions to reach or exceed your strategic pricing goals.

When you act to achieve your strategic objectives, you’ll find that price is usually the driving force in attracting and retaining customers.

If you want a 20% return on your investment, you can apply tactical actions to set a price that yields this desired return.

If your strategic objective is to survive an economic downturn, your tactics could be to set prices to continue generating sales while allowing your company to scrape by with enough income to cover costs.

Avoiding aggressive competition could include setting prices below the radar horizon of competitors to give you time to exploit a niche market before drawing competitor interest. (Back to Contents)

Overcoming Pricing Problems

There are three primary problems with the way typical small business owners price service.

First, they underrate the real value of their work. Many don’t realize how much they give away. They often leave dollars on the table when negotiating a project price. Some small business owners greatly underprice competitors and set prices too low, affecting everyone’s income (including their own).

Second many don’t understand how prospective clients perceive each job and the work involved. Some sellers don’t know how to increase value in the eyes of buyers. A perception of high quality should command a higher price. A perception of lower, but acceptable value should be reflected in lower price. The trick is to find a niche where your services are desired and yet perceived as more valuable than the work of competitors.

A third problem occurs when buyers assume that all services are alike. This commodity price mentality causes buyers to think that they can buy the same service from any seller. These prospective clients need to learn that there is a level of quality associated with each price You must help them understand the difference between low quality, standard quality, and high quality. Once they do, they can easily decide their own level of acceptance among the price options.

If you have a unique product or service, you should price it to what the market will bear—especially if you’ve invested time and money into its development. But you must find the key that moves buyers beyond their personal threshold of price resistance. (Back to Contents)

Pricing It Right the First Time

To do this, you need to evaluate demand, determine costs, and then decide what profit is acceptable before you set price. These are not trivial issues. Actions by your competitors, the government, and technology all