The MHEDA Journal - Third Quarter, 2013 - (Page 13)
FROM THE DESK OF
SALES AND PRICING
LIZ RICHARDS
The Art of Pricing:
LIZ RICHARDS
EXECUTIVE VICE
PRESIDENT
MHEDA
The cheapest solution isn’t always the best
I
love the story about the barber who
faced a dilemma when a competitor moved across the street and
posted a neon sign offering haircuts
for $5. The barber, who was accustomed to charging $20 for a cut, pondered what to do. Should he lower his
price to match the competitor’s offer?
What would be the impact of such
a reduced price? How much volume
would be needed to protect his profit?
And the most important question of
all: Weren’t his haircuts worth more
than $5? He did the sensible thing and
retaliated with a sign of his own: “We
Fix $5 Haircuts.”
The lesson here is so fitting in
today’s marketplace. It seems the
focus today is on lower prices, but
as we all know, cheaper is generally
not better and rarely equals value.
In fact, cheaper is oftentimes, much,
much worse than paying a higher
price and getting a higher quality
solution.
As consumers, we have all been
guilty of driving this quest for a
lower price. In a commodity market,
it’s tough to argue against buying for
less, but when it comes to a product
or service requiring skilled expertise,
price should never be the primary
consideration and it is to everyone’s
advantage in this industry to convey
this message to the end user.
During the recent MHEDA Convention, attendees heard from two
outstanding speakers on the subject
of selling. Warren Greshes shared
the specific attitudes and skill sets
needed to differentiate your solution from the competition and create
the kind of value to compete and
succeed in today’s economy. And
Norm Clark, Senior Lecturer from
Texas A&M, presented information
on how to engage customers and
prospects in order to best meet the
customer’s need, and hence offer
a solution based on desired objectives, not on price. Later this year,
MHEDA is offering an industry specific conference, Selling Strategies for
the Material Handling Professional,
on November 7-8, in Rosemont, Illinois. This is an ideal program for
When it comes to a product
or service requiring skilled
expertise, price should never be
the primary consideration and it
is to everyone’s advantage in this
industry to convey this message to
the end user.
professionals who are interested in
bringing their sales skills to the next
level, and particularly valuable for
the younger associate who may be
new to the sales profession or new to
the industry.
Speaking of the younger professional, on page 32 of this issue, you
will read about how some MHEDA
members are working with interns
in their organizations. What better
way to groom a prospective employee than to hire an eager, enthusiastic college student and train them
from the ground up? Not sure how to
structure an internship in your organization? Go to the “Careers” tab on
the MHEDA website, www.mheda.
org/career, and view the “Structuring
Effective Internships” webinar.
We are also pleased to be offering an Emerging Leaders Conference
this summer on August 1. This fastpaced, one-day conference is being
held in Chicago and co-sponsored
with MHI and will include topics on
personal leadership, time management, conflict resolution, coaching
and more. Check it out!
Thank you to everyone who
attended the MHEDA Convention. It
was our sincere pleasure to serve
you and although it is not “cheap”
to attend a MHEDA Convention, we
are confident you came away with
great value for the time and dollars
invested. I’d love to hear from you.
You can reach me anytime at the
MHEDA office by phone at
847-680-3500, or by emailing me
at lrichards@mheda.org.
The MHEDA Journal | Third Quar ter 2 013
13
http://www.mheda.org/career
http://www.themhedajournal.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The MHEDA Journal - Third Quarter, 2013
President’s Perspective
From the Desk of Liz Richards
Ask Your Board
MHEDA Member Profile
At Work
Happy Anniversary!
Implementing a Successful Internship Program
The Value of Being a MHEDA Member
Convention 2013 Recap
Exploring the Equity to Sales Ratio in the Equipment Industry
Professional Skills for Material Handling Distributor Sales Managers
Recruiting Young Talent
Increase Your Engagement & Balance Your Life
Emerging Leaders Conference
New Members
Spotlight on Association News
MHEDA University Calendar
MHEDA Milestones
New Products
Index of Advertisers by Product Category
The MHEDA Journal - Third Quarter, 2013
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