(Expert Feature) The 7 Lessons That Enable You To Offer The Highest Prices Without A Single Complaint
Play along with me for a second, ok?
Imagine you wanted to open a sushi restaurant.
Imagine you decide these things about your sushi restaurant:
- You decide to open a place that has only 10 seats.
- You pick a location with no bathroom.
- You decide to have a fixed menu with only 20 pieces of sushi.
- You decide you won’t offer any appetizers.
What do you think would be the result of a restaurant like this?
Do you think it would be a success or a failure?
Well if you said a failure, good guess, but you’re wrong.
How can I say that?
Because I tricked you. The imaginary situation above is actually real.
It’s a real restaurant that has each of those limitations above.
And it’s not a failure. It’s an unbelievable success! How much of a success?
You probably won’t believe it, but I’ll tell you anyway.
Want to know how successful this 10-seat restaurant, with no restroom and limited menu, actually is?
This is how successful:
- It is one of the hardest places in the world to get a reservation. (Many have to wait a year to get one of those 10 seats)
- They charge $370-$375 for a meal. (For only 20 pieces of sushi)
- They are considered by many to have the best sushi in the world.
- They have a 3-star rating awarded by the Michelin Guide (The guide awards one to three stars to a small number of restaurants of outstanding quality. One star indicates a “very good cuisine in its category”, a two-star ranking represents “excellent cuisine, worth a detour”, and a rare three stars are awarded to restaurants offering “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”. As of late 2009, there were 26 three-star restaurants in France, and a total of 81 in the world.)
The Name Of This Amazing Sushi Restaurant
The restaurant is called Sukiyabashi Jiro. It’s a little small place in the basement of a business building in Tokyo, Japan.
It is run by the 86-year-old sushi chef named Jiro Ono.
Jiro Ono – photo from wikipedia
I learned about him while watching a documentary about him on Netflix called “Jiro Dreams Of Sushi.”
His Secret: Don’t Settle For Less
How was Jiro able to create such a highly desired restaurant while still having such unbelievable limits such as limited seating and no restrooms?
One word: perfection.
Jiro’s goal for most of his life has been to create the best sushi possible. Because of that, he’s studied and practiced… and never stopped studying and practicing. Even though his sushi has been called the best, he still hasn’t stopped trying to improve his techniques. He still only chooses the best experts to provide his rice, the best experts for each type of fish, etc. He never settles for less.
He is so obsessed with sushi that he dreams about it!
How would you like to offer some of the highest prices in your industry and never have a complaint about it?
If so, then learn these seven lessons from Jiro…
7 Lessons Learn From Jiro Ono
1. You must offer the best product or service you can.
Your standards must be high. Without this part, you might as well stop reading. This is the key to his success.
2. You must use the best materials and suppliers.
Your desire to be the best can’t just stop with you. It must extend to include these areas or your final result will be hindered.
3. You must keep learning.
You must study the best from the past and the present. You must study those inside, and outside, your industry. And you must not just learn, you must also do. You must put it all into action and practice. That is the only way to achieve the best product or service.
4. Once you believe you’ve created the best product or service, then begin acting like it.
If you believe you’ve created the best product or service, the you must act like it. If you don’t act like your business offers the best, then no one will believe that you do. If you don’t create the atmosphere (and even restrictions) that the best would and should have, then no one will agree with the fact that you are the best.
5. Base your price on the fact that you have the best product/service available for your customers.
One way to act like you are the best is to be bold enough to ask for high prices. Why? Because you deserve it and because the higher prices confirm that you are the best. Do you go to Walmart for the “best?” No. You go there for the “cheapest.” Don’t position your business as the Walmart of your industry. You won’t be able to charge what you deserve if you do. Be the Nordstroms of your industry! You go to Nordstroms for the “best.” You go there and willingly pay higher prices.
6. There is power in having authorities and experts promote your business.
Why? This creates social proof. It creates an expectation of your superiority that can be a self-fulfilling prophecy in the minds of your new customers. How do we know Jiro’s sushi is so good? Chef and “No Reservations” TV host Anthony Bourdain featured Jiro and claimed he had his best sushi experience of his life at Sukiyabashi Jiro. The Michelin Guide tells us. French chef Joël Robuchon said that the restaurant is one of his favorites in the world and taught him that sushi is an art. These things help spread the word and even make the experience and the food taste better. What experts or authorities do this for you?
7. Limit who can purchase from you.
I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s not. If you really understand the law of “supply and demand,” you’ll realize it’s the only way to go. Think about it. If there is a large supply of something and low demand, does that make the price naturally higher or lower? Lower. If there is a limited supply and a high demand, does that make the price naturally higher or lower? Higher! By limiting who can purchase from you, and even making it harder to purchase from you, you can actually make what you offer more valuable. Not only that, but your work will be less – because you’ll have less customers. And that will allow you to give them more attention and make them happier. (*Remember this is only works if you’ve done the previous 6 things.)
Jiro’s Reward
If you want your business to stand out from all the other similar businesses, then you must be willing to do things differently and to be different. The difference starts with wanting to do and be the best.
Think of any of the most prestigious and expensive products or services in the world. I guarantee that the businesses who produce these products or services all learned and applied these 7 lessons to reach their level of success.
Even if you never attain perfection, the product or service you offer will be so much greater than if you settled for mediocrity. And isn’t the best you can possibly offer what your customers really deserve?
Jiro believes so and his customers reward him handsomely for that belief.
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Although we have a name in common we do not share the same opinion, although I love the idea I feel like the idea that no one can fail if they try hard enough seems, not unrealistic, but more simply naive. I only say this because I have seen people try their absolute hardest, and still fail in the business world. I do agree that people can succeed at the seemingly impossible though I do not believe everyone can, it’s just not a passion for everyone, and to give your absolute all, the world of business must be your passion.
Hi Scott. Thanks for your comment. I don’t think I ever said that anyone is guaranteed to succeed in business in that article (or anywhere). I agree with you. People can try their hardest and still fail. That’s not just true in business, it’s true in life. My point was that some people, like Jiro, have the audacity to become the best, believe they are the best and demand prices that they are worth. Other people are too afraid and don’t believe they could (or should) demand high prices and so they don’t. I’d prefer to be like Jiro. Take care, Scott.