TOW#554 — The value of a product
Last week, a friend told me something interesting that happened when he bought a car last year. I’m not sure what the exact numbers were, but they don’t really matter. The essence of the story is what’s more important here.
Let’s say the car was worth 10,000 euros. He tells me, when I saw it, I thought to myself that I’d be happy to pay 11,000 euros for it. But, as you do, after bargaining with the owner, they agreed on 9,500 euros. He was of course happy with the negotiations, since he’d reduced the initial price, and so signed the contract. When they were handing over the car, he jokingly mentioned to the seller that if he’d asked for 11,000, he wouldn’t have thought twice about it and would’ve bought it. The seller replied, “I would’ve given it to you for 9000.”
What happened!? On the one hand, they both got more than they expected (win-win) — one sold the car for more than his final price (9,000 euros), and the other got a price lower than the one he’d defined as his limit (11,000 euros). But on the other hand, you could also say that they both lost — the seller could’ve gotten more and the buyer could’ve paid less.
So, did they lose or did they win!?
If we think logically and rationally, then of course they’ve lost. Neither of them got the best that they could have. But if we think emotionally, they both got more than they’d planned, so of course they both benefitted.
This means that it all comes down to your perception. My friend has a fantastic philosophy which goes: when buying something, if it fits into your planned budget, don’t bother ‘bargaining’. If you’re satisfied with the product and the price, it doesn’t matter if you could’ve gotten more for less.
Therefore, in essence, the psychological aspect is the most important part of every sales process. Psychology says that when you buy something, you first react emotionally, and only then analyse the decision rationally (do you need it, how much does it cost, do you have a similar product, etc.). Our reasoning is the thing that creates problems after we’ve bought a product, and are initially satisfied with it, because it changes our perception of its value. If we subsequently check out the competitors, prices, quality, features, then we’ll definitely find out that we could’ve gotten something better somewhere else. Thing is, that’ll not only make you feel bad, you’ll also waste a lot of time and energy looking for another, better product than the one you just got.
In any case, I guess the point is that the value of a product doesn’t depend on anything other than how good and happy it makes you feel. If you’re satisfied, if it meets your criteria and needs, don’t bother switching on your brain and don’t spend any more time on it.
Wishing you success with the changes to come,
Petar Lazarov
Member of the Team
MACEDONIA-EXPORT Consulting
*If you want to read the original interview follow the link.
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