Many people believe that value is part of what you make, that somehow there is such a thing as a “natural fair price”. We know as consumers this is not true, otherwise we would not pay for expensive spring water that is not as pure as what comes out of our tap, or as the following quote demonstrates, buy diamonds …

Yes, diamonds have a romantic benefit, but it is all in the mind. A terrificly executed long term advertising and PR strategy. Check out this quote from The Atlantic (December 11, 2006)

as Edward Jay Epstein uncovered in “Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?” (February 1982), the idea that diamonds make a good investment is a false one. Diamonds, he argued, are nearly impossible to sell once bought because “any gain from the appreciation of the diamonds will probably be lost in selling them.” He recounted one test conducted by a British magazine: the editor bought diamonds in 1970 and tried to sell them in 1978, but could not sell them for a price anywhere close to the one he had originally paid. Epstein also wrote of a wealthy woman who tried to resell a diamond ring she had bought for $100,000 from Tiffany & Co. in New York City. After shopping the jewel around in vain, she gave up.

I would advise you to read up on the whole diamond story, it really is a case of advertising over logic, and even when we know this to be true, still we continue to buy into it.

So what is the point here? Well, while you might think the point is that diamonds are at best a bit inflated in the pricing department to say the least, the actual point is that value is not a constant, and value in your prospects mind needs to be created.

I was reminded today as I read a free ebook that was 1000% superior to a $37 ebook I had read only days before. Why can the $37 ebook sell all day long at that price? Because the $37 ebook had a higher perceived value, and that value was reinforced by the fact it was selling at $37!

No two people are going to look at the same product and value it the same, and each will have priorities that you must connect with. A starving man is probably not going to jump for joy at your offer of accupuncture, but as I sit here with RSI and a pain in my kneck, I would willingly pay $100 for someone to stick needles in me in the next five minutes!

You must understand what is valuable to your prospect and then show how your product, service or offer delivers what they want and need and more.

What do they get for their investment? Each of us wants to spend a dollar and get a buck fifty back, either in cash terms, power, status, utility or emotional benefit.

You must communicate the benefits in a way that will translate into a high perceived value, even if you are giving your product away. The only “fair price” is what your customer is happy to pay.