The Tribune

By Simon Cooper

Res Socius

While products are the things we sell in business - and hopefully make money from as we do – my friends at Wolfram Math World also define ‘product’ as “the result of one or more multiplications”, which directs one’s thoughts down an interesting side path.

Perhaps one could also say that the essence of any product is the result of its constituent parts? I’m not only talking beneficiation here. I am also thinking of the service that comes with it, its intrinsic value and, of course, its price.

The “I am Victorious” blog expressed some interesting thoughts on how to win with total product, and not just price, the other day. After all, it points out, anybody can lower price and grab the business (and some do until they stop making profits and go out of business). If price were the only discriminator, then Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz could not exist. But they do exist, and clearly very profitably, too.

In their case, they both discriminate with clearly identifiable products that drip quality, and are marketed through competent dealer networks. Moreover, their cars both have a habit of lasting for a long time, making their annual capital cost the envy of many other firms.

And that’s case closed on some mainland Chinese products. While there is no denying they are not all the same, the ones I am speaking about are tatty, tawdry and hardly last until you have got them home.

I remember a saying along the lines of “disappointment with a cheap product outlasts the pleasure of the price”, or words to that effect. In other words, the ‘total product’ of a product is what matters, and not just the cost alone.

I broker businesses for sale along similar lines. While my fees aim to keep out the competition, I make a fair living from it and I’m not ashamed to say I do. When it comes to market discrimination I am more than a step ahead of the average business broker elsewhere, because:

• My experience and credentials enable me to assess businesses fairly.

• People who enquire about them are given full disclosure.

• I personally ensure that everything sold is delivered

• I am available to provide other business services to the parties.

• I live in the Bahamas myself, and this is where I intend to stay

If you are in business yourself, and troubled by apparently similar offerings at a lower price, then my advice is to fight back with the facts. Buy a sample yourself, strip it down and identify its weak points.

There’s nothing in the law that prevents you from pointing out that your offering is the better deal. Just don’t run the other fellow down. Folks don’t like that, and it is often a deal breaker, too.

NB: Simon Cooper is a founding partner of Res Socius, a firm authorised by the Bahamas Investment Authority to facilitate the sale and purchase of businesses, and provide management consultancy

services. Contact 376-

1256 or visit www.ressocius.com.