You may be surprised to know that the biggest mistake you can make when shopping is to shop for the "best" or "lowest" priced products. That's right! Buyers mistakenly use price to drive their buying decisions -- this is referred to as the price myth and retailers have used the lowest price hook for years to drive traffic to their stores and websites. The single biggest shopping mistake a consumer can make is to base the decision to shop or buy solely on price, and I should know as I have been providing sales training to companies for 30 years. Whether it is Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the day after Christmas, online shopping or throughout the year these smart shopping tips will ensure you always make a good purchase and avoid making bad ones.
The first thing to know is to never make your decision to purchase on price but instead on value. Smart Shopping Tips for making a great purchase will always be based on value.
The way to best determine value is:
1) Use: how often will you use the product.
2) Duration of use: for how long will you use it.
3) Resale value: can you sell the product later and reduce your overall cost.
4) Pleasure or improvement of your production.
5) Price should be evaluated based on above.
Remember the last time your spouse came home and told you how about the product they found for 75% off and you knew this purchase was a waste of money at any price. Price should be the last criteria, never the first, when evaluating a good purchase. How much you will use the product is what can most impact the value. The more you use it the more valuable it is regardless of price. The period of time you will own something should also be taken into consideration as the longer the duration of use goes a long way to reducing your cost. The next key component to increasing value is if the product has any resale value. This is a big plus point as you will be able to recoup some of your investment in the future. Lastly before you consider price think about how the product improves the quality of either your life or (more importantly) your ability to produce more money as this represents real value. Once the first 4 components are taken into consideration only then should you focus on the price.
The next time you are tempted to buy that crock pot because it is 50% off run the purchase through 5 smart shopping tips for making a great purchase. Don't fall victim to the price myth -- evaluate your purchase on value, not just price and you will avoid shopping for things that don't have real value. Also know that when you find something that fits the first 4 criteria the price justification will always be easy! Finally, remember when value exceeds price you always get a great deal!
Grant Cardone, NY Times Best Selling Author and Sales Training Expert