How Much Is $100?

Is $100 a lot of money? Now that depends. If I told you that you could pay $100 for a pair of socks or $5 for a pair of socks, you would most likely buy the $5 socks because they aren’t expensive. $100 is a lot of money for a pair of socks.

Now if I told you that I was running a contest and that the first prize was $100’000, and the second prize was $100, you would probably be incredibly disappointed winning second prize.

So how can $100 be both a lot and a little? It’s called contrast.

Our perception is shaped by what’s around us. A car looks big beside a bicycle, but put the car beside an 18 wheeler, and the car looks minuscule. Our brain is always making comparisons.

How many department stores sell their most expensive suits? Probably not too many. The expensive suit helps the department store sell less expensive suits.

How? Contrast.

If you are in the store and you see a $3000 suit jacket beside an $800 suit jacket and both look similar, the $800 suit seems like a bargain.

You can use contrast in your business to give your products a more attractive price position. Create a product that is noticeably more expensive than your current best seller and watch your sales increase. If your really lucky, you might even have the occasional customer purchase the super expensive item.