I was in a meeting yesterday, we met with one of the pillars of the tradeshow and exhibition industry. We are negotiating for the booth price. The meeting was held in his office.

When the meeting started it was clear that the price will be the dealmaker.

As we gave our reasons why the price should be lowered, our counterpart did one of the best and smooth way to handle our request. He concentrated on the value of their services versus the competition. He enumerated the benefits that we will be getting out of tapping their services.

He compared his company and services to a Honda car while the nearest competitor that is bidding our account a Kia car. He explained it in a very smooth and convincing way.

In the end, he won our account.

Most of the times, as sales and marketing professional who are pressured to convince our clients, we are stalled when they focus on the price. We encounter difficulties in persuading them not to focus on the price per se but on the totality of our services.

But as to what I experienced yesterday, we must never give-up but persevere to explain and show the values of our services, the more when what we say is true.

Because an excellent service or product really has a higher price compared to a mediocre one, which in the end can give bigger benefits to our clients.

So next time, remember the Honda and Kia story of value and price.