Selling the Price Increase

Price increases are customary, but clients seldom are prepared to accept them.

If you believe nothing is certain except death and taxes, you can add one more item to your list: price increases. Everything will cost more in the future than it does now. People resent this fact. Your B2B clients will do anything to avoid paying more. 

You know that shareholder complaints about financial returns, senior executives’ profitability concerns, and normal pricing pressures –  including inflation, consumer demand fluctuations, supply line issues, rising expenses and expensive investments – mean one thing: Price increases for your customers. Price increases fall into six categories.

1. “Broad-based price increase campaigns” – Prices go up for all or most customers. 
2. “Targeted, account based price increases” – Prices go up for certain accounts, often with contract renewal or reorders.

3. Nonnegotiable price increases – Unhappy customers can pay more or change vendors.

4. Nonnegotiable price increases “with exceptions...