Why Not Ask The Experts? They Are All Around You!

About seven years ago I was fortunate to have lunch with a recently laid-off marketing manager.  He had been involved in the growth of a large and successful local company.

At the time I had priced the premium level of JibberJobber at $6.95 a month.  It just felt right.

My uncle, a senior level executive, said I should charge $20 or $30 a month, because it was just that valuable.

At lunch, the marketing manager asked me how I came to the $6.95 decision.  I’m not sure what I said, but I’m sure it was as elusive as “it just felt right.”

I really didn’t know what I was doing with pricing back then.

He went on to tell me that his company did some in-depth studies and found that from the $5 to the $10 price point was NO DIFFERENT to consumers.

In other words, I could charge $5 or $6 or $10 and it wouldn’t have a negative impact on how many people purchased.

He said this was true at every price bracket, so $5 = $10, $15 = $20, $25 = $30.  A consumer would say something like “oh, it is less than $30.”

I do that… when buying something my brain says “oh, this is less than $10,” whether it is $6.95 or $9.95.

The bottom line is that you can leave money on the table, and after our conversation I decided to listen to the expert and change the price to $9.95.

Here is my point: I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t expert in it, I wasn’t even smart enough to read a bunch of books and figure this out. But I found and talked with and listened to an expert, and I was able to make decisions based on what he had learned.

I’m guessing you are questioning or struggling with something.  Whether it has to do with interviewing, networking, job search, healthy eating, marital relationships, exercise… or a host of other things, why not find the expert?

Sometimes you will have to pay them.  Sometimes the answer you need will be on their blog or in a book they wrote.  But it’s always better to find the person with the best right answer rather than struggle with bad or lack of information.

I do have to say, though, don’t ask an expert out for lunch just to pick their brain.  This is offensive, and you’ll be one more leech in their inbox.