I can remember a particular radio commercial several years back, aired by a local Chevrolet dealer in my town, with an opening line that went something like this:
“For the price per pound that you’ll pay for your hamburger at lunch today, you could own a new Chevrolet.”
When it first aired, I was taken back in my mind to grade school where Mrs. Tucker taught us how to break down numbers to their lowest common denominator. Back then I had no way of knowing that very principle would come in handy as a salesperson later in life. But I do remember various teachers telling me repeatedly how often the stuff they taught would someday be useful in my daily life.
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That commercial aired for nearly a year, which meant it must have brought in a lot of car buyers. After analyzing it, here is my perception of the way it was heard by Zane and Elaine Blaine, as they heard it on the radio in their 1994 Crown Vic, on the way to the grocery. By the way, they had been talking about a new vehicle for months, but it just wasn’t in the budget.
Elaine: “Zane, we have got to get a new car.”
Zane: “We’ve been over this before, Elaine, we can’t afford one.”
Elaine: “Well maybe we need to go to that Chevrolet dealer that plays the hamburger commercial.”
Zane: “Huh.”
Elaine: “You remember don’t you, “For the price per pound…”
Zane: “Oh yea, I’ve heard that a hundred times.”
Elaine: “It seems to me that if you can stop at McDougal’s every day for lunch and order a smiley meal, then we can certainly afford a new car.”
Zane: “I, er, uh, guess so. OK, we’ll go to the dealership Saturday morning, but I’m not promising that we will buy a car.”
Elaine: “I knew you would see it my way.”
When you do the math, you will discover that Zane’s lunch came to nearly $6 per day, including his drink, mango pie, and tax. Well, that’s about $180 per month, and yes the local Chevy dealer did have a Malibu demo, with a few thousand miles, and no bells and whistles, that the Blaine’s bought that Saturday. Zane hopes that Malibu lasts at least 7 years, because he is now saddled with a car loan of that duration!
That example demonstrates the power of LCD pricing. Residential prospects and commercial buyers alike often tend to budget for ongoing payments rather than a lump sum price.
When you break down the price for your product or service into small bites, it will be much easier for your new customer to swallow and digest. The Blaine’s couldn’t afford a $15K car, but didn’t think twice about paying for that daily smiley meal for at least the next 7 years.
As you consider this strategy you might think about composing some LCD phrases similar to these, assuming they would be appropriate for what you sell:
“You can protect your ______ from ______ for about a dollar a day.”
“For the price of a cup of coffee each morning, you can have _____.”
“For about a penny on the dollar of the value of your home, you can put this ______ to work for you.”
These should give you an idea of the point I’m making here. This is not razzle-dazzle, but rather positioning the price of things in ways that sound and taste better to your potential buyers. So get your creative juices flowing, you Zane’s and Elaine’s in sales rooms across America, and get this idea working for you!
©2015 Robinson Training Solutions, LLC
