Selling the Price Increase

9Price Increases When You Have All the Power

There are certain situations where your customer cannot survive without your product, service, or software:

• There are supply chain constraints or shortages, and you are the only supplier.
• Disruption to your service or the supply of your product would have a significant and negative impact on your customers' sales to their customers.
• Switching to your competitor would be too costly and onerous.
• Your service or software is so integrated into your customer's workflows and operations that it would be nearly impossible to unwind it, without disrupting their operations. If you turned it off, it would effectively shut down their business.
• Your offering is far superior to that of your competitors, making you their only viable option.

In these situations, because the risk of losing your customer in the short-term is minimal, you have the leverage and power to maximize price increases. You won't be asking for or negotiating that increase. You'll be telling them what the price increase is going to be and it won't be optional.

You Need Me More Than I Need You

I want you to take a moment to recall a time when you needed help from a government agency like the DMV. Step back and remember what it felt like when the people working there treated you like you needed them more than they needed you.

They did it simply because they could. They had all of the power and if you complained or failed to comply, then no driver's license for you.

It stinks, ...