"Your price is too high," Do they mean price, or cost?

Anyone heard of Zig Ziglar? He's a famous sales guru and worth looking up for some great gems. Don't dismiss his videos as 'old school', he has pearls of wisdom that are worth the few minutes you spend on them.

He once told an amusing story about the difference between cost and price and for those of you that are on the receiving end  of ' Your price is too high' you can learn something here.

When Zig’s son was six years old, he visited a bicycle shop to buy him a bike. After finding out that the price was more than he was willing to spend, he ventured to the local discount store, where he found a bike almost half the price, and felt great about it. His son was only six, so this cheaper one would be fine.

Fast forward a few. months and the handlebars needed a replacement. Then a few months later it was the entire sprocket apparatus, including the brakes. Another few months or so the bearings in the front wheel gave up, and so on and so on…

Eventually, Zig admitted defeat and bought the more expensive bicycle that his son rode for about 10 years without any repairs needed.

Zig’s message was to understand the difference between price and cost. The price of the second bicycle was considerably more than the discount bicycle. Yet the cost of the discount bicycle became significantly higher as time went on. In fact, when Zig worked out what he paid per month and year, he paid more per month on the cheaper bike than he did per year on the expensive bike.

So when your prospects mentions price, make sure you are prepared with the 'cost' of your service/product.

Maybe you need another example?

Let's look at travel insurance - you may buy the cheaper option so the price is right, but the cost may be higher if you need that insurance and it doesn't cover the one aspect that you needed, or doesn't give you enough support. The cost could be higher in the end if you wind up in hospital for longer than is covered, or your belongings lost in transit aren't all included, or even your health itself if you are stressed and ill overseas covering costs and trying to find help getting home.

Or perhaps we can look at studying overseas. You buy a language course that's cheap and cheerful, with the aim of perhaps using it for further study abroad. You pick one whose price seems better. But look closely at the cost, are you getting fewer hours? An unaccredited school that may close down and leave you stranded? One whose teachers aren't as qualified and experienced as the more expensive version? Larger class sizes so you don't get as much input? Balance your choices if you're a buyer, and know your price and cost if you're a seller.

So I think you get the point. My sage momma would simply have said 'buy cheap, buy twice' and put it more succinctly than I have!