Perceived Value

Isn’t the human mind amazing? There are many times that I shop around for the best bargain. Whether I am looking to buy curtains, a pair of shoes or a car, I am always looking to get the best price possible. However, if you’re like me there are some things that you don’t skimp on, such as healthcare, proper care for your children and your business.

I get several Google Alerts on a daily basis for several keywords that I keep track of. Yesterday I received one about a product offering for Virtual Assistants. The gist of the alert was a book about “everything you need to start your VA business in 30 days” and the price was $15.00.

Let’s compare the above to Tawnya’s VAS System. The price listed is $495 plus shipping and handling.

When you look at $15.00 vs. $495 plus s/h, there is quite a price difference, but if you’re anything like me, there are bells going off in your head. Sure one may be a better bargain, but are you getting what you pay for? When you look at both prices and the promises of each, do you really believe that you will get everything for $15 that you get for $495? To me $495 speaks quality and because I want nothing but the best for my business, in my mind it seems like the better bargain. Because no doubt I will spend the $15 then turnaround and have to pay the $495 anyway.

In business when we see a higher price, we see more value in what’s being offered. We can look at almost the same product, different authors, and in the back of our minds, we know which one will help us more and even give us more.

Let’s translate this into rates. If person A charges $10/hr and person B charges $35/hr who do you think provides the better service? It’s hard to tell without actually knowing the person, but I am more inclined to say person B because they charge more. In my mind they sound more confident about what they know and about the services they perform.

What’s your opinion?