More Than WE Know

In the past few weeks, I’ve been reading about why women don’t earn as much money as men. I’ve read and written about our tendency not to ask for money and our limiting beliefs about money that hold us back.  This week, I thought I’d take a look from the other side, and read about male attitudes about money.

I chose Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatnessbecause I think that Gitomer has a very masculine view of negotiation and selling.  To me, his worldview is far removed from the common view I hear from many of the Women Entrepreneurs I encounter.

Let me be clear, Gitomer’s principles are similar to those of More Than WE Know - he believes wholeheartedly in giving value first and on the importance of building strong business relationships.  He makes sales by understanding his customers and addressing their deepest concerns and fears.

But, in reading Gitomer’s books, I never get the feeling that he doubts his worth or would readily undersell his services.  He is in business to help people - and to make money. And he is just fine with that.

In my business and in my personal life, I see too many Women Entrepreneurs who are uncomfortable discussing money:

1) They almost apologize for their fees; when asked, they begin justifying the fee, offering a discount before one is requested, or letting the customer establish a price -by asking, “what do you feel comfortable paying?” 

 2) When setting their fee, they base it on how much of their own time the service is taking, versus how much value it is providing to the customer- in terms of time saved or expertise provided.  In other words, they charge for the hour that it took them to do the task rather than the five hours it saved the client by hiring them.

3) They believe so much in the value of the service they are providing, that they practically give it away. They consider earning money to be of secondary value to helping people.  This is certainly noble, but it misses the point that by earning money for their services, they will be better positioned to help even more people.

All too ofen I see Women Entrepreneurs who are too hesitant to establish a high enough price to start with, and too quick to cut it once they have set it.

On the other hand, Gitomer doesn’t try to make a sale by jumping to undercut his own profits.  He views issues of price to be an indication of a deeper issue the customer is feeling - the perceived risk of the transaction.  Gitomer works to reduce that risk rather than reduce the price.

For example, he might offer a money-back guarantee, a testimonial from a satisfied customer, or an extra bonus.  

According to Gitomer, “If the risk is price, than the compensation is value.”  

That’s a powerful statement. And not one I hear coming from Women Entrepreneurs too often.

Take some time to live with that thought. How would it change the way you view your services or products?

Try asking yourself, “If I absolutely couldn’t change the price, how would I deliver more value - a guarantee, a testimonial, better customer service, an extra gift, a membership, a discount on the next purchase ???”

If you are in a service business, take a look at your fee structure.  Re-read the article on negotiation to remind yourself of how those small reductions in fees add up over the course of a year, and a career.

If you sell a product, calculate how much money you are losing by under-cutting your costs. Consider how long you can afford to live on less.

In the US, and in much of the world, more women start businesses than men. But in general the businesses WE start earn less than the businesses started by men; WE have less revenue, fewer employees and smaller profits. 

This week, compare your prices to your competition.   Assume for the moment that you can’t compete on price - if you had to charge as much as they do - what would you do to compete on value? And then, ask yourself -  what would it take to really do it?

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 (photo by MikeKorn)

Liz’s 1st Law of Customer Loyalty:

Customers feel more connected to your business when they participate in the development of the product or service. 

What’s more - by partnering with you in the experience they will actually develop more loyalty toward your business than if they had simply made a purchase of the finished product.

Much like Isaac Newton discovering the law of gravity by having an apple hit him on the head, this thought came to me this afternoon while my husband and I were picking apples.  No apple hit me on the head (none actually hit Newton either) but the idea did strike me rather strongly!

I realized that my husband and I had just:

• driven 45 minutes to get to the apple orchard passing numerous grocery stores with fully stocked produce sections along the way
• marched past the displays of already picked apples to get our baskets
• headed out to the orchards to pick our very own apples
• returned to pay - the very same price as the farmer was charging for the already picked apples -  and probably more than those grocery stores were charging
• And finally drove the 45 minutes back home, quite pleased with our day.

That last part is the most important - we were quite pleased with the day.

In fact, we were busy comparing calendars and determining when we could go again - to buy more! and bring friends with us!

On one hand, this makes no economic sense.  This was hardly the most efficient and cost-effective method of purchasing apples.  But the point was, it wasn’t about the apples. They were a nice byproduct of our day.  But that evening, as we sat down, smugly eating slices of freshly-picked apples with warmed brie and chilled wine, we were able to recount to each other stories of our apple-picking experience.  And as we re-lived the experience, we sold ourselves on buying more.

So what - you say - I don’t own an apple orchard - what does this have to do with me?

The key is - the larger lesson for entrepreneurs - is that in our online, virtual culture we are starved for real experiences.  Many of us are so hungry for reality that we are now watching “reality on TV”!

And there are many, many of us who are waking up to the fact that in a time when we literally have “the world” at our fingertips and can purchase just about anything with a “push of a button”, we want to experience more for ourselves. 

We are awash with stimulation and information, but we lack authentic experiences. In a world in which we can purchase anything “ready-made”, doing it ourselves has become “priceless”.

So how can the average entrepreur use this trend to enhance profitabilty and expand customer base?

By incorporating do-it-yourself options into your business or service:

• if you are a designer of cakes, jewelry, art, crafts, web pages, logos - offer a lesson in doing it yourself
• if you are a florist - offer an “arrange it yourself” day
• if you are a tour guide - add visits to local homes and communities
• if you are an attorney or tax accountant - offer overviews on processes requiring simple forms like name changes or registrations
• if you run a website - put up surveys, contests or let them post their own pictures and stories

Those are just a few ideas. The point is most businesses lend themsleves to increased customer involvement.  In some cases you’ll make as much or more as if you provided the service or product while in others, you won’t. 

In either case, you will build increased brand loyalty by making your customers feel:

• more empowered and accomplished for their experience
• more emotionally connected to your business

This in turn will cause your customers to:

• bring more of their own  business to you
• recommend you to their friends

All of which will result in more customers and increased profits.

So now it’s your turn - get involved in the business of blogging - enter your comment below - tell me about your product or service - offer ideas on how you can get your customers involved or ask for suggestions! 

Experience how it feels to see your words and your name on the internet!!!

Thanks to Heidi Richards at Virtual Woman’s Day for adding MoreThanWeKnow to her list of  ”great woman bloggers”. 

Heidi is the Founder & CEO of The WECAI Network™   – an Internet network of organizations that “Helps Women Do Business on and off the WEB.”

She created Virtual Woman’s Day™ to bring together women from around the globe to network together, learn together and grow together. She intends women to do this by encouraging one another to share resources, promote products and services, increase our circle of influence and have some fun in the process.

Heidi arranges a monthly event called 1st Fridayz in which women network over the internet, sharing their products and ideas and listening to great speakers.  September’s topic was on Blogging for Business. It was such a success that they are going to continue the topic and do “Blogging for Business Part Two” on October 5th.

This is a great low-risk networking opportunity.  You don’t have to leave your home, you can participate as little or as much as you want, and you can easily follow up with people via email after the event. If you would like to participate, register for the WECAI network, and more details will be sent to you.    Don’t miss the fun!

 One of the fortunes of being a Woman Entrepreneur in the 21st century is that we get to have role models to inspire us.  A generation before us, women were making things up as they went along with no indication whether or not what they were doing made sense.   As intimidating as that may sound, it had a certain appeal to singular, free-spirited, strong-minded individuals.  And it is to those bold, courageous women that many of us owe our inspiration as entrepreneurs.

One such inspiration for me has always been Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop. Anita was one of the orignators of the idea of doing business to do good.  Ecological principles were a foundation of her business with its philosophy of re-use, re-fill and re-cycle. Later, she expanded her social activisim to include human rights, animal rights and sustainable environmental practices. 

Anita traveled the world to gain inspiration and to give assistance.  She was an author, a speaker, a teacher, and an activist.   She was an example for Women Entrepreneurs everywhere who want to achieve success and help the world to be a better place.

Anita passed away Monday from a brain hemorrhage, at the age of 64.  She lived every day of her life as if each moment counted - daring to do all the things that most of us only dream of.

In recent years, Anita maintained a blog that espoused her personal beliefs and strong opinions as well as represented her sense of fun and enthusiasm. 

Anita was a role model for those of us who continue in her spirit. In her words:

“Join me: I want to connect with people who share my outrage over the menace of global business practices, and who, like me, are seeking solutions. But I also want to tell - and hear, from you - stories that lift our spirits, that celebrate how glorious our planet is. Outrage and celebration - let’s run this gamut together.”

In the spirit of outrage and celebration, I invite you to journey with me as we build our businesses, create success for our families, and work together to make the world a better place.

October 15th is Blog Action Day.  On that day more than 5000 blogs will post on one topic - the environment.   Each blogger will add his or her own unique perspective - political bloggers will post on politics and the environment,  parenting bloggers will post on children and the environment, and small business bloggers will post on (you guessed it) small business and the environment.

On that day, I would like to talk about general ways entrepreneurs can help the environment by running their busineses more efficiently and consciously.  But I would also like to talk about specific women entrepreneurs who are contributing in a positive way by: reducing waste, promoting recycling, cleaning up the environment, educating others, etc.

If you are a woman entrepreneur whose business is environmentally conscious and would like to be profiled on my blog, please comment below or contact me directly by using the reply section on my “about” page.

I look forward to hearing about your efforts to go green!!