Why Some People Pay More
By: Jeffrey F. Knott
When I first started traveling our nations airways almost a decade ago the main factor that influenced which airline I flew with was the price. That's right; I didn't care what airline was taking me from point A to point B. All I knew was that I wanted to pay as little as possible to get there. This philosophy is practiced by most consumers today. Whether it is the food being purchased off of the fast food dollar menu, an economy airline ticket or spending as little money as possible to drive a vehicle that an individual will spend a large portion of their life in, it is a common practice for Americans to associate cheap with getting a good deal.
This is how most of the customers searching for automobiles today feel. All they know is that they want to buy the car they are looking for, while paying as little as possible for it. Most of them are not loyal to any one salesperson or dealership. They will even change loyalty to the brand of car that they purchase, much like I changed airlines if the price was right. I bought a price. Much like many of today's auto shoppers do when they shop for a car. Remember we live in a country where people brag about how little they paid for their car and how much they paid for their house.
As a frequent flyer with no airline loyalty I received a large amount of advertising from the airlines. In one of these advertisements was an offer from a major air carrier. The offer was to elevate me to a gold status member of their frequent flyer program. As a result I would get upgraded to first class when available, (which turned out to be most of the time) even if I only purchased a coach class ticket. The only catch to maintain my gold status was that I had to travel on their airline quite often during the proceeding three months. Whether I would or not would remain to be seen. However, I was going to “take advantage” of my new found status.
The very next trip I was scheduled to take began with the same ritual as before. It began with a search for the best price on an airline ticket over the internet. The airline that I was now a gold member with offered tickets that were priced competitively to the other airlines however they were still ten percent higher than the “best deal” available and I would have to change planes to boot. Well, I think by this point in the article you realize that I had to toss my desire to get the cheapest ticket to the side in hope of being upgraded to first class. After all if I got upgraded I would have truly gotten the “best deal”. For only thirty dollars more I would have gotten to board the plane first, sit in a larger, more comfortable seat, I would receive a meal during the flight, I would be able to depart the plane without waiting in line and more importantly I would be made to feel important. For thirty dollars it was worth the gamble.
After paying more for a ticket then I needed to the day finally came when I would see if my gamble had paid off. Sure enough it did. I got upgraded on both flights and felt like I had just won the lottery. After all I was riding in style for a fraction of what it would have cost to go first class. No, I wouldn't have paid three or four times the cost of a coach fair to ride in first class however I was enjoying my new found status and I had paid more to do so. As far as I was concerned I got a Rolex for the price of a Timex.
What you may be wondering does this have to do with selling cars? The story itself has nothing to do with selling cars. However the lesson that can be learned from it does. People will pay as little as possible unless:
A) They feel like they are getting a better value even when they are paying more.
B) They are made to feel important for doing so.
This is what salesmanship is about. A true salesman understands how to impress upon people that least expensive doesn't mean it's the best value. Furthermore they truly understand the power of making people feel important. Combine the two and you will find that you will make more sales and you people will be willing to pay you more for your product.
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Jeffrey F. Knott is the Author of From Zero to Hero, How to Master the Art of Selling Cars and can be reached by email: Jeff@Showroomtoday.com |
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