by Bud Hilton
Easy opening, Easy to dispense, Easy monthly payments, So Easy, a Caveman can do it . . . We are all suckers for “life made easy” sales pitches. However, we also know that in many cases the end result of the Easy promise is the failure to deliver to expectation. You probably don’t believe that the “cheapest” product can perform as good as a more expensive one? So, why would you believe that the easy message fulfills expectations comparable to something that may require a little more effort? Most people know better than this but still fall for “cheap and easy” because they say . . . let’s try it and if it does not work properly, we did not invest much and can move to an upgrade later. Someone said to me once – “Would you ride in spaceship built by the low-cost producer”?
Our company is in the business of selling applications and services to manufacturers who must identify and disburse proper financial reimbursements to contracted customers they sold products to. Sounds Easy but our industry has complicated processes to the point that it is anything but “Easy”. This process has become so complicated that most manufacturers now reach out to get help from outside providers, like our company, that specialize in “delivery” of these services. Sound like something that “Cheap and Easy” can solve? Nah-Nah!
But, but, but . . . Many manufacturers, in our foodservice industry, still initially take the “Cheap and Easy” route to jump start purchase decisions. Why? . . . because they can! But let’s don’t lay 100% of the responsibility on the buyer. Some software companies and service providers have made “poor decision purchasing” an excusable offense by simply offering inexpensive applications and systems; by urging customers to “sign-up”, “enroll today”; by playing to buyer egos and convincing them that “you can provide “any additional” sweat labor necessary to achieve optimum performance of my product”.
The selling streets are lined with many who try cheap and easy solutions and fail. Even to the point that many smart marketers could employ a sales division called the “I Told You So” Group Sales Specialists who aim straight at those who have tried and failed in the Cheap and Easy arena. This technique at least gets you past a lot of low-cost/low quality competitors.
This should go without saying but “solutions are generally directly proportionate to the problems they solve”. So, forget looking for Cheap and Easy to solve your very complicated areas such as deviated claim tracking and settlement. At least start eliminating from the Top of the Quality Mountain . . . not the bottom. This does not mean that the best provider is trying to get rich by charging more. On the contrary, it usually means that they have invested in best practices that require your equal investment for ultimate success. Just keep in mind – Cheap and Easy usually requires second, third, fourth . . . investments.
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