Chapter 228 - Fragile Path Of Success

After the elder couple left them, Jing Jing eagerly looked at Sofia and grinned at her. She clapped her hand and giggled.

"Miss Sofia, I don't understand the two prices that you have set. I could not explain how I feel right now. Should I be anxious or be happy? After all, the business will control my salary. Please tell me the idea of expensive and priceless cost."

"I am not setting a price, sister Jing. I am setting our worth. The worth of the Chronos company. We must give the clients a worthy service so that they are interested to pay the amount," Sofia answered.

"What's the difference between price and worth?" Jing Jing probed further.

"It's the same. But, in our business, we are not just selling services. It's too easy to set prices. We can do that to our food and rooms. Remember, our business is a hostel," Sofia said.

"Ohh... so, what exactly is the one that you discussed earlier? Miss Sofia, even if you are younger than me, I truly admired your character. You spoke well in front of the two elders. They are considered giants in district 7 too. So... I want to understand the things that you said. I might be able to use the idea someday," Jing Jing felt helpless and expressed her sentiments. She was willing to learn and no matter how she think of it, she could not get to the bottom line of Sofia's mind. The feeling was a bit frustrating for her.

"Hmmm, sister Jing it's just talking. Nothing is hard about it. The Chronos company offers rooms and food. These are the products that we will sell every day. We can set a price for everyone. As for the reception venue... it's not every day that there are important events in our place. So, we need to establish a sense of exclusivity on it. That is why we have to negotiate with them this way," Sofia answered.

"What if they will choose the option that does not cost them money? We will lose profit, right?" Jing Jing continued to ask.

"There is no what if. Before negotiating, it is important to calculate the result. Sister Jing, you must evaluate the situation of the client first so you would be able to predict the outcome of negotiation before it even started. Every client has a unique personality. So, this kind of strategy is not applicable for everyone," Sofia prompted.

"Ohh... You have predicted?" Jing Jing trailed and felt another headache on her head. It sounded simple but the more she thought of Sofia's response, the more she could sense that it was actually complicated. "How are you able to evaluate the situation and the client?"

"To evaluate the situation, we just have to observe and know them. In our case today, the client is the Lee family. Although they are low-key, their wealth and success are evident in the public eye. So, it is easy to give the two options to them," Sofia explained and slightly chuckled. 

"I am still worried. I'm sure they are contacting the Lee family and is telling them about the price," Jing Jing spoke anxiously while looking at the main door of the house where the elder couple went inside.

"Sister Jing Jing, don't worry. Brent is rich. He will pay that price," Sofia replied.

"What if his father will pick the second option?" Jing Jing inquired.

"The second option is also good. We can convince the heart of our public to patronize us. It's a good marketing strategy since the Lee family is well-known and has a high status," Sofia quickly said. "But with Brent's personality, he will choose to pay us," she added with no hesitation on her tone.

"AH!!! You are sure that the young master of the Lee family will pay 500,000?!" Jing Jing exclaimed. Then, her hands subconsciously covered her mouth as if she was worried that someone would hear her. "What if the Lee family will think that we are scamming them?" she whispered.

"Scamming? Sister Jing, our business is legal. We have all the permits to operate the business, why would they think that we are scamming them?" Sofia was now slightly amused. A slight curve appeared in her lips but it did not resembled a smile. It was more like a smirk.

"But-, Miss Sofia, that price is beyond the standard cost for a wedding reception," Jing Jing defended. She secretly wanted to express that the price was a scam!

"There is no standard when it comes to the cost of service. It's just that the people have a mindset and principles when choosing the service they want. We must grab their interest and let them realize that we are worth it more than the money they would spend on us," Sofia thoughtfully said while checking her phone. She went straight to her emails and saw several unread messages from WINS, the leader of the FAB_Gamers squad.

'There is no standard when it comes to the cost of service?' Jing Jing mentally repeated.

A long silence suddenly followed around the balcony. Jing Jing was still processing what Sofia had said while the young lady had focused her attention on her phone.

After several minutes, Sofia looked up and saw that Jing Jing was caught in a full trance. She smiled and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Sister Jing, don't think too much. Our business is not mainly to offer a reception venue for events. We are a hostel. We can offer rooms for rent and the restaurant. The nature of our business is accommodation and dining. As for the wedding reception, we won't casually accept other events. Think of it this way... the clients must meet our standards first. And for us to impose this, we must establish a solid standard for them.  This is why we needed the Lee family. Brent will understand because he is a businessman. And he will agree because we are friends and I helped him establish the Lee Gaming Squad."

"We are using the Lee family as a stepping stone to establish our worth?" Jing Jing absentmindedly muttered.

"Yes, we are!" Sofia directly replied. Using someone sounded ugly but Sofia had a different thought perception about it. 

Such a direct confirmation from Sofia made Jing Jing quickly returned to reality. "What?!" she instantly exclaimed and frown appeared on her forehead. "Did I hear it correctly? Miss Sofia, we will use the Lee family?"

"Sister Jing, I know that it sounded bad to use other people. But in reality, this is how the world business works. Resources and opportunities are tied by connection. And using people is not bad when you are directly connected to them. It's normal," Sofia stated.

"It's normal? Huh?" Jing Jing sighed and took a big gulp as if she was trying to swallow all these information that she had learned from Sofia.

"Well, sister Jing, remember the significance of connection in business. In the survival of a company, the top priority of the business owners is not the customers. It is their connection to the other business owners," Sofia spoke lightly.. "Even if the business has customers if the owner don't have a good connection with other business owners, the path of the company's success will be very fragile."