Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
To those reading this thread who find may be looking for a way to break out of the price competition market and start selling at prices appropriate to the value you are delivering, I offer an example of how I conduct a sales presentation and close which has worked well for me for 27 years:
"Mr. Jones, here's what we propose as the best solution for your sign."
"Looks great! How much?
"$500.00. Shall I write it up?"
"Sounds kinda high. Budget Signs seemed to think he could do it for $350.00."
"We probably can too. Do you mind if your sign is only 1" think instead of 1.5" and we use two colors instead of three?"
"Well, I don't really know. It doesn't sound as good."
"It isn't but it's what we can do for $350.00. Do you want to order that version or the original sign for $500.00?"
"I want to think about it and talk to my partners."
"That's fine. We want you to choose the best solution for your needs and your budget. My recommendation though is to go with the sign that will make you look the best to your customers but, if your budget only allows for the lower priced version, you can still expect our best workmanship."
"When can you have it done?"
"If you order it today, we can have it installed this Friday. Do you want me to go ahead and write it up?"
"Yes ... and make it the $500.00 version."
"You've made an excellent decision, Mr. Jones, and you can expect a sign you'll be proud to display."
I have colored the sale closing statements in blue. The sales principles at work are to present the product to be sold and attempt to close the sale. that results in either a signed order or any objections being brought to light. The first close is a trial close and results in a price objection which is usually a test. Can I get this guy to drop his price just by asking? My response is cooperative and respectful of the client's budgetary needs. Again it is a trial close to see if his priority really is to get the sign for less money. The third close is an alternate of choice close. It assumes the client is ready to buy and only needs to choose the version. He next inserts a delaying of decision objection indicating he is still not quite sold and fears making a bad decision and not liking what we do for him. My response is cooperative and designed to provide assurance that we are a great choice to do his work. His response is what is called a "buy signal" indicating no additional selling or fact presentation need be made. It's time to close the sale. The final closing question results in Mr. Jones agreeing and also making his choice of version. Finally the interview ends with me assuring and reinforcing his decision.
Please note that I never knocked the competitor and was never overbearing with the customer or belittled him. I presented only what I could do for the customer and stood firm on my prices while offering a scaled back version if he really was on a budget. Notice that I did not close the sale on price at all ... I closed it on when the job would be completed. Such an attitude implies to the customer that he is dealing with an honest, quality vendor. My attitude throughout is that he can have great confidence in me and is highly likely to be pleased with the result.
If he ends up at budget signs, that's okay by me as well, because I cannot and will not devalue my work. Perhaps he'll order from me next time around.
"Mr. Jones, here's what we propose as the best solution for your sign."
"Looks great! How much?
"$500.00. Shall I write it up?"
"Sounds kinda high. Budget Signs seemed to think he could do it for $350.00."
"We probably can too. Do you mind if your sign is only 1" think instead of 1.5" and we use two colors instead of three?"
"Well, I don't really know. It doesn't sound as good."
"It isn't but it's what we can do for $350.00. Do you want to order that version or the original sign for $500.00?"
"I want to think about it and talk to my partners."
"That's fine. We want you to choose the best solution for your needs and your budget. My recommendation though is to go with the sign that will make you look the best to your customers but, if your budget only allows for the lower priced version, you can still expect our best workmanship."
"When can you have it done?"
"If you order it today, we can have it installed this Friday. Do you want me to go ahead and write it up?"
"Yes ... and make it the $500.00 version."
"You've made an excellent decision, Mr. Jones, and you can expect a sign you'll be proud to display."
I have colored the sale closing statements in blue. The sales principles at work are to present the product to be sold and attempt to close the sale. that results in either a signed order or any objections being brought to light. The first close is a trial close and results in a price objection which is usually a test. Can I get this guy to drop his price just by asking? My response is cooperative and respectful of the client's budgetary needs. Again it is a trial close to see if his priority really is to get the sign for less money. The third close is an alternate of choice close. It assumes the client is ready to buy and only needs to choose the version. He next inserts a delaying of decision objection indicating he is still not quite sold and fears making a bad decision and not liking what we do for him. My response is cooperative and designed to provide assurance that we are a great choice to do his work. His response is what is called a "buy signal" indicating no additional selling or fact presentation need be made. It's time to close the sale. The final closing question results in Mr. Jones agreeing and also making his choice of version. Finally the interview ends with me assuring and reinforcing his decision.
Please note that I never knocked the competitor and was never overbearing with the customer or belittled him. I presented only what I could do for the customer and stood firm on my prices while offering a scaled back version if he really was on a budget. Notice that I did not close the sale on price at all ... I closed it on when the job would be completed. Such an attitude implies to the customer that he is dealing with an honest, quality vendor. My attitude throughout is that he can have great confidence in me and is highly likely to be pleased with the result.
If he ends up at budget signs, that's okay by me as well, because I cannot and will not devalue my work. Perhaps he'll order from me next time around.
good post Gino... now I halfway agree with both sides too... I personally don't worry about the impact of wholesale prices being flashed around, but you make a good case for why some forum could impose a minor stipulation on ad content, and why some merchants might think it wasn't too much hassle..
