Early in my career, I learned the meaning of the business saying "never leave money on the table" from a most unlikely source. The circumstance was so memorable, that I never forgot it and I'd like to share it with you. 

Colonial Tavern was a working man's bar that was owned by Louie, a short older gentleman with a faded anchor tattoo on his right forearm. Louie possessed a rare command of 4 letter words, and they flowed from his lips freely, not unlike bar poetry.

On one late Friday afternoon, I sat at the bar with a few friends when the door opened, and a disheveled old soul shuffled in. He was clearly not quite right. His hands shook as he steamed a smoke, his jacket 3 sizes too large, shoes ripped, and he sat at the stool beside me. 

Louie immediately placed an ashtray below his cigarette. While the old man searched his pockets for money, Louie grabbed a cold bottle of Budweiser from the cooler, wiped the top with a well-used bar rag, and placed the bottle in front him. 

A few seconds later, the old guy opened his clenched fist and dropped 3 quarters and a dime on the bar. Louie quickly scooped it up and walked away. 

Now this was in the late 80's and a bottle of beer at the time was $1.25. I did a quick visual and counted 85 cents dropped on the counter. 

The old man sat there and drank his beer and missed the ashtray more than he hit it. He talked to no one. When he was finished, he got up and left. 

I was curious about what I just witnessed so I asked Louie. "I couldn't help noticing that the old guy beside me paid 85 cents for a beer that the rest of us are paying $1.25."

Louie flatly replied "He comes in here every day, and some days he has two bucks.

I immediately knew that Louie was a great businessman. This was the absolute definition of never leaving money on the table. Louie was happy, the old man was happy. 

Flash forward 30 years and I see well educated salespeople granting unsolicited discounts... why? Maybe because they didn't know what Louie did. 

If someone is willing to pay what you are asking, then why would you discount? If you do, then you have devalued the product in their eyes. It's another way of admitting that you asked for more than it is worth.

On the other hand, If someone is willing to pay more, then let them! They will pay more for rush service, expedited shipping, case pack variations, special services that you might otherwise comp. 

If your product solves their problem and meets their need, they will be a happy customer. 

For you, the business owner, the difference can be a game changer. An analogy might be; the difference between spending a buck and saving a buck is 2 bucks. 

Think about how this lesson applies to your business. 

Jeff Richards
Think Deep Global