It’s very simple to keep your prices fair to you and to the customer, but you’ll notice that people will try to beat you down just to see if you’ll give way, and most jewelry crafters do give way and lower their prices down to almost nothing, just to see the customer smile and nod and walk away, knowing they’ve had you.
The thing to do to prevent being beaten down for a bargain price is to establish your prices in the first place, and keep them rigid — HARDEN your price list, and KEEP THE FAITH.
What I mean is, look at the sign that announces your prices, point to the sign, say to the customer, “Those are my prices. I’ll give you ten percent off if you buy this today.”
Special fair prices are okay, but PRINT THEM, don’t tell the prices verbally, because then they can change — the customer sees vulnerability there and moves in for the kill, so you must anticipate this by PRINTING your price list and if possible, photographing a few models with your creations and using them in a flyer, announcing your great SALE prices, but that’s as low as you go.
If you leave yourself wide open as a target for bargaining and discussion and rationale and mental one-ups and emotional jumps, you won’t have a good experience. “It ain’t me that decides the price” is the concept that you hold in your mind as the sale proceeds. Never be the one who determines price, or you’ll lose the ballgame.
FEAR of REJECTION is what causes you to lower your prices when you KNOW you shouldn’t, and it’s a fact that lowering your price won’t change the sale. It’ll happen if it’s going to happen, and it won’t if it isn’t. If the sale isn’t “Meant to Happen”, it won’t happen, and if it is MEANT to happen, it will. Stay confident, even if you aren’t. Never let them see you sweat.
Sounds horribly Existential, but it isn’t, and that’s not the right interpretation of Existentialism anyway. It’s impossible to believe it, but there’s nothing YOU can do to alter the FACT of the sale, determining whether the sale happens or not … but wait … there IS something you CAN DO, if you’re ABLE to do it, which is doubtful.
HEISNERIZE IT. Continue reading