The $1,000 Barbecue Grill

You should charge more for whatever you sell. And you should be unapologetic about it.

That's true for probably 80% of the students and clients I deal with, and for 90% or more of businesses I encounter along life's way.

“But Ray, my business is different.”

Aargh!

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times from clients and students in some variant form: “I can't charge a high price for my product, and I can't use direct marketing or info-marketing techniques, because my product is different. It's a commodity. It's physical, it's not an info-product. I have a lot of competition. Blah, blah, blah…”

Balderdash.

I learned a long time ago (from Dan Kennedy) — your business is not different.

If you feel you can't charge a premium for whatever it is you sell, you have failed to differentiate your offering… you have failed to show the value of your widget/idea/service over your competitor(s)… and you have perhaps simply failed to have the backbone to say, “This is how much it costs.”

Case in point: The Big Green Egg grill.

The company that makes this thing is not a client of mine, but they exhibit the qualities I look for and do my best to instill in my clients: a committment to good marketing, to having a premium product, to charging a premium price, to selling to a base of fantatical customers, and to using good info-marketing and direct marketing techniques to support said practices.

They sell barbecue grills for $1,000.

That's not a typo.

In a world where you can buy a grill for $9 at the drug store, or $30 at Target, these guys sell grills for anywhere from $350 at the “cheap” end to more than $1,000 at the high end. And they have plenty of add-ons and upsells too.

You could learn a lot from the Big Green Egg guys.

Worth studying and thinking about how to use the same ideas, techniques and approaches in your business – no matter what you sell.

Because, despite what you may think… your business is not different.

Ray Edwards is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business including New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and Tony Robbins. Ray is a sought-after speaker and author, hosts a popular weekly podcast, and blogs at RayEdwards.com.