Ep 43 - Price vs. Value: A Masterclass in Selling Beyond the Number
- Chad Lingafelt
- Aug 14
- 2 min read
In a competitive market, it's easy for businesses to fall into the trap of competing on price alone. However, true success lies in demonstrating value. In a recent "Unlocked" podcast episode, Lars from Calgary Lock & Safe in Alberta, Tony from Assured Security in Minnesota, and Chad from Loc-Doc Security in Charlotte, NC, shared their philosophies on how to master the art of selling value over price.
Positioning Yourself as a Third-Party Consultant
Lars explained a powerful strategy he learned from books like
Never Split the Difference and StoryBrand: positioning yourself as an independent third-party consultant. By framing the conversation around the customer's goal of getting the best value, you become their guide. Instead of saying, "buy our widget because it's the best," you can say, "My job is to help you decide which product is the right solution for you". This builds trust and humanizes the relationship, making price a secondary factor to the overall solution and expertise you provide.
Know and Communicate Your "Why"
A critical takeaway from the discussion was the importance of knowing and being able to articulate your company's "why". If you don't know what your competitive advantage is, or what justifies your cost, your team likely doesn't either. Whether your advantage is faster service, a unique process, or a flat-rate pricing model, understanding and communicating this "why" is the foundation of moving beyond a price-driven conversation.
Pricing Categories and Customer Sensitivity
The hosts discussed how different pricing categories evoke different emotional responses from customers. They identified two areas of high price sensitivity:
Service Calls: A "service call" fee is often met with resistance because customers feel they're being charged for you "just to show up".
Labor Rates: Hourly labor rates also garner frequent complaints. As Lars explained, a high hourly rate can feel unfair, especially if the job takes longer than expected, making the customer feel they are paying for inefficiency.
On the other hand, the hosts identified
hardware pricing as highly inelastic. Most people don't know the true cost of a specific lock or key. This lack of knowledge makes them less sensitive to price fluctuations in this category. A strategic takeaway is to focus on a higher margin on hardware to offset the psychological impact of service and labor costs.
The Great Pricing Debate: Lump Sum vs. Line Item
The episode's most contentious debate was over how to present quotes. Lars favors a flat-rate or lump-sum approach, arguing it simplifies the sale and avoids negative emotional responses to line-item costs. Chad and Tony, conversely, prefer providing a detailed breakdown, believing that a lump sum can make a customer feel like a company is "trying to hide something" and that transparency builds trust.
The final piece of advice? When a customer asks for a discount, don't just give one. Instead, ask them what they'd like to remove from the quote to lower the price. This forces them to re-evaluate the value of the components and almost always leads to them accepting the original offer.
Links:
🔗 : https://unlockedpodcast.com