Poor Quality, Poor Price

By Mark Blezard

There is actually more to this wonderful poster, including the reason why we don't discount without good [great sounds better] reason.

But first, the headline, quality. This is so true, if you sell rubbish at a rubbish price, client retention will be zero. You'll spend your entire working day seeking a new, ignorant customer, and your sales executives will soon become disheartened and move on.

Then we have customer service, an often hidden element of the overall 'quality' for the client. Get this wrong and, no matter the quality of your product, you will fall into the same 'bitterness spiral.'

And finally, the 'low price.' This was my main reason for expanding upon the poster because countless sales trainers have banged the 'don't discount add value' drum. This is where it becomes interesting if you've failed on the quality and/or customer service because adding value will become virtually impossible.

However, let's end on a positive note and assume that your organisation is a star with both quality and service, and let's look at discounting. If ever there was a reason not to drop your price simply because the buyer asks for it; it is because they won't repeat order because of it. They will only reorder if they value the product and service thereafter!