Page 86 - Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing - PDFDrive.com

A man was suffering a persistent problem with his house. The floor squeaked.
No matter what he tried, nothing worked. Finally, he called a carpenter who
friends said was a true craftsman.

The craftsman walked into the room and heard the squeak. He set down his
toolbox, pulled out a hammer and nail, and pounded the nail into the floor with
three blows.

The squeak was gone forever. The carpenter pulled out an invoice slip, on
which he wrote the total of $45. Above that total were two line items:

Hammering, $2.
Knowing where to hammer, $43.
Charge for knowing where.

Value Is Not a Position

If your primary selling position is good value, you have no position.
Value is not a competitive position. Value is what every service promises,

implicitly or explicitly. It is fundamental to survival. A service’s price must fairly
reflect its value to the customer, or the service eventually will fail.

Some legal services charge $50 for an uncontested divorce. Lawyer
Lawrence Tribe charges $750 an hour. Acme’s clients say they get good value,
and most clients and experts point to Tribe’s results—a 15–6 winning record
before the U.S. Supreme Court—and they say he gives very good value, too.

In services, value is a given. And givens are not viable competitive positions.
If good value is the first thing you communicate, you won’t be effective.
If good value is your best position, improve your service.