"This is the complete book for both new and experienced salespeople and business owners to learn and re-learn the essentials for success. How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors emphasizes the pricing strategies and tactics to increase the market share and profits of any organization. This is a book that is as important to presidents as it is to salespeople."

—Bill Scales, CEO, Scales Industrial Technologies, Inc.

"As the largest service provider in our industry, we have a significant market advantage. However, we constantly walk the pricing tightrope because, as this book so clearly states, 'business is a game of margins . . . not a game of volume!'"

—John K. Harris, CEO, JK Harris & Company, LLC

"If you live and die on price, this book could be your only lifeline."

—Tom Reilly, CSP, author of Value-Added Selling and Crush Price Objections

"How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors successfully illustrates profitable sales truths to assist us in selling for maximum return. This book's well-researched, logical, and affirming words validate the simple fact that as a premium company we deserve premium margins. So, while our competitors reduce or match prices out of fear and scarcity, our managers, thanks to this powerful sales tool, can continue quoting and closing with profitable confidence."

—Joe Bracket, President, Power Equipment Company

"I learned a long time ago that it is pretty difficult to control what my competitors will do, but we must control what we do—like maintaining margins. This book is a 'wow!' that will help my salesmen crack bad habits. Sales organizations should design their entire training programs around the content in this book."

—George C. Giessing, President, Brusco-Rich, Inc.

"This energizing book is the 'right stuff' for every sales force. It should be a required study for every executive and sales professional who seeks to be successful."

—David R. Little, Chairman and CEO, DXP Enterprises, Inc.

For decades, businesspeople have tried to solve the problem by cutting prices and making up the loss through higher volume. It's one of those old business myths that just won't die—but it's really just a recipe for disaster! Even if the strategy works, another competitor will probably come along and do the same thing to you! It's a vicious cycle that never ends, unless you find a way to break out of it.

In How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors, sales gurus Lawrence Steinmetz, PhD, and William Brooks show you how to stop racing your competitors to bankruptcy court and start selling at prices that actually earn you a profit. They explain that business is a game of margins, not volume, and that competing on price might be a surefire way to increase your sales—but it will run your business into the ground.

Steinmetz and Brooks explain that the problem isn't your competition; it's the mistaken belief among businesspeople that customers only choose products or services based on price, rate, or fee. The truth is that people buy what they buy for lots of reasons, only one of which is price. If you're competing with someone willing to lose money to gain market share, the cure is to give customers a reason to buy what you sell other than price.

This one-of-a-kind sales guide shows you how to find the competitive advantage that lets you sell at higher prices. Plus, it presents proven strategies for selling based on value rather than price, how to price products or services correctly in the first place, how to withstand pressure to cut prices, and how to put it all together into a sales strategy that keeps you profitable.

WILLIAM T. BROOKSis a leading authority on sales and sales management. A Certified Management Consultant, he has delivered thousands of presentations, training sessions, and keynote addresses. He is also the author of The New Science of Selling and Persuasion, also from Wiley.

Chapter 2: But Competition Keeps Cutting My Price.

Chapter 3: Determining Your Competitive Advantage.

Chapter 4: Service as Your Competitive Advantage.

Chapter 5: Why You Really Shouldn’t Mess with Price-Buyers.

Chapter 6: What Buyers and Customers ReallyNeed—Hint: It Isn’t Low Price.

Chapter 7: Things Buyers Would Like Besides a Low Price.

Chapter 8: Your Competitors’Delivery Problems Will Get You Profitable Sales.

Chapter 9: Yeah, But I’ll Make More Money If I Cut My Price—And I Don’t Care If My Employer Does Go Broke.

Chapter 10: How to Face a Competitor’s Price Cuts.

Chapter 11: The Two Cardinal Sins of Selling.

Chapter 12: Buyers Make Good Liars . . . If You Let Them.

Chapter 13: How to “Hang in There” under Intense Pressure to Cut Your Price.

Chapter 14: Indicators That You Are Underpricing.

Chapter 15: Indicators That You Are Overpricing.

Chapter 16: How Prospects Will Attempt to Get You to Cut Your Price.

Chapter 17: How to Finalize a Transaction When You’re Faced with Price Resistance.

Chapter 18: General Guidelines on How to Price.

Chapter 19: Final Thoughts on Selling at Prices Higher Than Your Competitors.

Appendix: The Premium Price Seller’s Ready Reference Guide.

Notes.

About the Authors.

Index.