It’s 5:44am here in Accra, I woke up some minutes past four. I cannot sleep (so much happening in my head…).
I don’t want to lay on my bed thinking about the things I could have done better so I decided to continue working on my business plans (yay!).
I’m trying to type but I cannot find the right words to express myself, my vision and my goals :(.
Okay so I’ll blog about something I learnt three days ago, about selling your product even if the client says ‘No’!
This video has opened my eyes to my mistakes and the things I could have done differently. I my defense, I had no idea plus it hurts when you put in so much effort to create a unique piece and a client kills your mood by saying “eh i’ve seen it before or make it cheaper”!
In a master class video by Vusi Thembekwayo, he explains how to get the sale even if the client complains about price.
“… there’s no such thing as a product that’s too expensive. No such thing as a product too expensive. A customer tells you a product is too expensive, you talking to the wrong customer.”
I agree completely. You see when I started KenobyMeu, I underpriced my work! I was making and selling necklaces for GHC60-GHC100. I did not consider the time (takes over 4hours to make one), cost of materials or the effort I put into this work. Even at that price, they still want it cheaper. This can be upsetting! Let’s continue…
“… I never talk price, I talk value.”
Now this is what hit me! Michelle you never talk VALUE! When they underprice my work, I would complain to my family and talk about how much effort I put into this work but never to the CLIENT. I did a quick playback of all my interactions with clients and I never mentioned VALUE. I did not sell the product. 🙁
Once again, “… Never talk price with customers, talk value”.
“Never say no …” *insert: why?*”… ’cause then you walk away from a sale”.
“…what you’ve got to figure out is how to make the customer feel bad for not buying. The minute you say no, they don’t feel bad because they’re like “she’s arrogant”, and they walk away – never say no.”
Ah the table has broken on my head! He’s absolutely right about this. Truth is saying “No” does come off as arrogant or I do not need your money so bounce. In reality I need your money, I’m hurt because you do not understand the time and effort I put into my work.
“No is a word you should try never to use in a sales process. You’ve got to find a way of saying no without saying no!”
Hummmmmmmn
“The price is the conversation people have absent of value. The minute someone mentions price, it means that there’s no value. It means you’ve commoditised what you do.”
This video is an eye opener for me. I’ve made mistakes but it’s all part of the process. No one has it all figured out which is the beauty of life. You learn everyday.
This brings me back to the time I approached a concept store on instagram. Sent an email never got a response (ouch!). But I was determined to push my products to their store. Finally sent a DM and I got a quick response from the page handler. He apologised about the mix up and sent another email address. So I sent pictures of my work and got great feedback.
I was so happy! Finally! He gave me the contact of his boss and I couldn’t wait to send her my work.
Well there is no happy ending in this story, she saw my work and told me…”it looks nice but I’ve seen it before…somewhere around Osu!” Wait a minute, I know where she must have seen it from ’cause I made the piece for that person (who never gave credit to KenoByMeu)!
I felt terrible, I was a bit defensive and I explained that it must have been my work cause I never get credit for it. Then she sends me pictures from google. Tells me I’m talented and all…*sigh*.
I did give feedback to the guy who replied my email and he explained his boss thinks I’m talented and would love for me to make custom pieces for them. I turned it down!
One thing I wished I had done different was I could have handled the situation better. When she said she had seen it before, I could have sold the value of my product and not catch feelings! But would it have made any difference? Let me gain more life experience and I’ll address this 🙂
There was a time I sent a friend a message that I had started making jewelry again and she asked for pictures and price. You should know where this is going 😀
Well she goes “it’s too expensive and people sell it a lot cheaper”. Hummnn. So she sends me pictures of similar style and asks if I could reduce the price. I was offended by her response ( I won’t lie) but again selling the product value would have been the right thing to do.
I’m learning from Vusi’s videos. I love his humor and how he explains things. No sugarcoating, straight to the point! Amazing!
“… So what I’ve had to figure out is how do I make the conversation about value, by the time it gets to price it doesn’t matter.”
Even though I have made mistakes, I cherish them. I understand that life is a stage, and each stage you take something with you. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Note to self: Do not feel bad about the mistakes you have made or the time you wasted. You know better now, so rise!
Watch the full video below (I’ve linked it to the part where he talks about making the sales – 10:07)
Continuation of the series – How to get a customer to buy, when they tell you they don’t have the authority to.
Featured Image source, Pexels (photo by Breakingpic)
