The happiest of chickens don’t come “cheap, “cheap”
Here at our laboratory, we’ve just made a startling discovery.
I’ll share it in just a minute, but first – a story.
I was at the farmer’s market this weekend.
With forty bucks burning a hole in my pocket.
I went to the veggie table. And got 30 bucks worth of arugala, kale, yellow + red grape tomatoes, farm eggs, mushrooms, and Chinese eggplant.
As I picked out my produce, a woman came up beside me.
“How much are your eggs?,” she asked the man who was helping me.
He told her.
She walked away.
I meandered over to the grass fed beef stand.
Bought a flat iron steak, a flank steak, and a pound of grass fed ground beef.
Had a lovely conversation with the meat guy about how delicious grass fed meat is, and how to prepare different cuts.
As we were talking, the same woman came up beside me.
“How much are your eggs?,” she asked the man who was helping me.
He told her — $5 a dozen from the farmer with 150 free range hens who have full roam of the property, and get to live in the sunlight + grub for worms. $7 per dozen from the hobby farmer with heritage birds.
She walked away.
It hit me like a ton of bricks – this woman is shopping for the best price on eggs at a farmers market!
If this were a big box discount bulk retailer like Costco or Walmart, it would make more sense.
I just assume that people who shop at farmers markets have a certain set of values – happy hens, cows who have one bad day, veggies that are raised by people who have a connection with the land (and have picked that lifestyle by choice, not desperation), fresh food, getting to know to your farmer…
… but I was wrong.
Here’s the thing: that woman did not look relaxed.
She did not appear like she was enjoying herself. Or anyone else, for that matter.
Far as I could tell, the only thing that mattered to her was one thing.
Price.
Cheap.
She wasn’t shopping value. She wasn’t shopping story. She wasn’t shopping experience or connection or novelty.
She just wanted the cheapest eggs.
Many of you are experiencing this in your business right now.
You are being shopped on price. Potential clients want to know “how much is it?” – and then they go right to your competitor and ask them the same question.
What I want to tell you is that this woman is not your ideal client.
The people who want the lowest price are not your ideal client.
I would argue, with love, that they are not ANYONE’S ideal client.
Your ideal client is someone who values the experience of working with you. Your ideal client is someone who enjoys the conversation with you. Who appreciates the relationship they have with you… as you help them get the results they want to get.
How do you attract THIS sort of client?
I’m a copywriter, so I’d be remiss not to tell you that it flows out of you through your copy.
But it really starts with who YOU are being. Are you being the lady at the farmers market – a place where it’s KNOWN that things tend to cost more, because they aren’t produced by factory farm methods like the rest of our food system – who’s shopping for the cheapest eggs?
Or are you the person who knows what she wants – and finds a way to invest in her (or his) values, beliefs, and desires?
“Real value,” says the reverend TD Jakes, “is not something that goes on sale.”
Mighty thanks to vis.a.v flickr photostream for the happy girls.
Posted May 28, 2013 at 2:09 pm | Permalink
Great post! Right on the mark. So often I get hung up on what I think something “should cost” vs what the actual benefit and value of it is. Then there is the self doubt part about “will I actually utilize” the product or training to realize that benefit.
Posted May 30, 2013 at 11:20 am | Permalink
I hear ya, Tom. Though after writing this, I realized I, too sometimes “shop on price.” I’m looking for a housekeeper, and decided that $100/hr — though I value a clean house — just isn’t a fit.
Thanks for writing!