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Summer mornings at the lake can be very peaceful… the sounds of birds going about their morning business, water gently splashing against the shoreline, and the soothing echoes of… chainsaws!? Our lives are interrupted daily by these unwelcome intrusions! Hopefully your summer is going well and this blog series can serve as a welcome distraction – NOT an unwelcome disruption!

Give this song by Stone Temple Pilots a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week. Take it away, boys…

Nothing’s for Free – So Sell the Value!

I’ve been talking a lot lately with our clients and our internal project teams about dealing with price objections. Do these objections stump your sales teams? I wonder if it’s this time of year…

Whatever the case may be, I thought it would be worth sharing a great post from our partners at VanillaSoft – they define 4 common price objections: budget, high price, lacking features, and time. What are the price objections YOUR team gets regularly?

Communicating VALUE is what transforms these objections into opportunities, and Darryl Praill outlines the top ways to establish value when dealing with these objections:

  • Establish and refine value early
  • Know your own value
  • Be prepared if you’ve previously given discounts
  • Be confident
  • Be willing to accept a ‘no’

See the complete article here. Communicating value can be tough sometimes – but it’s all about the story you tell. Is your team telling the right story, or do they all just hum along?

The Downward Spiral of Concert Cancellations

Concert and tour cancellations are starting (again). Last week, Nine Inch Nails announced the cancellation of their upcoming 2021/22 tour, leaving fans disappointed and the industry anxious about the future of live events again!

They’re not alone. Florida Georgia Line also cancelled their upcoming tour – and according to some, they may be more worried about pissing off their audiences than about infections! Many of these artists are Live Nation acts and they need to play by the promoter’s rules – which means they can’t go on the road without Covid/vaccine restrictions. And some of these acts that have right-leaning audiences… perhaps they’re worried about their fans’ reaction to the restrictions?

Whatever the reason – there seems to be some ambiguity as far as the future of live events and concerts again. Sure – we have some big tours rolling across the country now, but will these be paused as we see more and more acts cancel? And as B2B marketers – how does this bode for our fall event season?

Some may feel okay selling their soul to sign an autograph, but it seems many bands are backing out of concerts for various reasons. Hopefully the time of cancelled/postponed shows can safely end before live events are just a burning ancient memory.

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat