If you ever feel squeezed on price, and it seems like your business is being commoditized, there are ways to resist!

1. Copyright © 2016 Marketwerks, Inc. 1
Bob Sherlock
Copyright © 2016 Marketwerks, Inc.
Demonstrate Your Value
… and Get Paid for It

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Agenda
1. Squeezed
2. Case: Sommersly Corporation
3. Escaping the Squeeze
4. Your Plan

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Ever feel squeezed on prices?
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"Even though our costs are
going up, we don’t dare raise
our prices."
"We definitely add value for our
customers, but we have no
method for baking that value
into our prices."
"We have excess capacity we'd
like to fill, but not at the prices
we'd have to accept."
Squeezed

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What happens to your
business if your services and
products are treated as
commodities?
Consequences of The Squeeze
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Squeezed

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Not easy to fix…
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What stands in the
way of increasing
your customers’
willingness to buy at
prices more
favorable to you?
Squeezed

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If paid what your solutions are worth…
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… What would
that make
possible for
your company?
For you?

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Case Discussion: Sommersly Corporation
3 Strategies to Get Out of the Squeeze
1. Unpack
2. Find their biggest value
3. Pick and price
Escaping The Squeeze

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1. Unpack the bundle
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Identify all the services Sommersly provides
Escaping The Squeeze

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2. Find their biggest value
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Escaping The Squeeze
• Identify Sommersly’s distinctive
problem-solving, value-creating
capabilities
• Connect their capabilities to the
outcomes customers and
prospects want
• Estimate how much their
solutions and individual services
can be worth to customers

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3. Price a service that’s been free
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Escaping The Squeeze
 Charge for it… or cite a value and zero-invoice it

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3 actions to get out of the squeeze
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1. Unpack their services bundle
2. Find their biggest value
3. Price a service that’s been free
Summary: Escaping The Squeeze

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Where is your opportunity?
Escaping The Squeeze
• A service that creates value for customers
• You don’t get paid for it
• Takes significant resources to provide
o One-time
o Over time

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• What stands in the way of charging
for, or getting credit for, a service?
• How can you get past the barriers?
Where are the barriers?
13
Escaping The Squeeze

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What’s your plan?
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Escaping The Squeeze
Action Plan (Who, When, Where and How)
Unpack your services bundle
•
•
•
Find your biggest value
•
•
•
Price a service that’s been free
•
•
•

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Free article
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Visit http://www.marketwerks.com/stop-
commoditization to obtain this free article

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Could you use a boost?
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Marketwerks serves executives of manufacturing and B2B services companies
whose sales teams lack a compelling answer to “Why should I buy your
solution from you—especially when you’re more expensive?” or “Lower your
price or I’ll buy from someone else.”
We help our clients get paid what their solutions are really worth—and attract
customers willing to pay more for premium value.
Bob Sherlock
President
Marketwerks, Inc.
1900 E. Golf Rd. – Suite 950
Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA
847-382-6210
rsherlock@marketwerks.com