Lost A Customer---mad As Hell

enforcer

customer liked me,even negotiated price which he was happy with...asked for reference which i sent him 5 . we went back and forth for a few weeks.he then says he decided to go ahead with a different contractor.
un friggin believable. this is why the one day close is best (in my opinion).

J F

that's why I quit working for family

DavidC

That is why when you negotiate price you have to use qualifiers. Only give the price if he will sign today. Something like, if I could do the job for 5% less would you be ready to sign the agreement today? If he won't commit than you don't have a sale and it would be premature for you to agree to the price.

Good Luck
Dave

__________________
www.CookContractingLLC.com

lawndart

Then why haven't you figured out a system to close in one day already? I can tell you from experience that having this system in place helps your closing %.

enforcer

regarding the one day close:
i get this response quite often...
" you are our first estimate and we just want to do some more research".
of course they also say 1 or 2 more estimates but they are also claiming they need to do some more research.
any opinions on how to counter that?

Framer53

You have to counter it before it comes up.
IE> If I give you a price you can live with, is there any reason we caqn't do business today?

This if you give it while you are presenting the proposal, actually at any time, will give you an answer which will prep you as to how a customer is thinking.
I have told customers that I will be back in 2 or 3 days, their choice, if they don't respond positively to the above statement. At that time I will represent the proposal and then give them the price. Of course, before I do that, I will trial close at least twice to take their temperature.
I would suggest that everyone take a sales course. It will help you in these situations to close.

bwalley

They were never your customer, they were just a prospective client.

It sounds like they were working multiple contractors against each other and they went with someone else.

enforcer

what are some good examples of "trial closes"?

DavidC

IE> If I give you a price you can live with, is there any reason we can't do business today? (Framer 53)

This is what I was calling a qualifier.

Good Luck
Dave

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www.CookContractingLLC.com

enforcer

i hate the "what if's"..
what if they say the THINK the price sounds good but they need to do more research?

DavidMoore

I think because you are mad as hell may be one of your biggest assets. The fact that it really pisses you off losing business indicates to me that this business is about something MORE than the money. If it's about something more than money, if it's your PASSION, then that inner drive will push you to beat the brains out of your competition.

How do you beat the brains out of your competition? By being the 'hands down", undisputed, very best in your field. And your passion and competitiveness will drive that home in everything you do. You'll be the guy that doesn't cut corners, skip steps, use inferior materials or rush a job. With a reputation like that...price objections can be mitigated.

I used to handle the price objection up front. If I knew they were shopping around, I let them know that I was usually the highest quote "and here's why...." And then I would tell them exactly why I charged more than my competitors. I focused on the positive and what I could do FOR them and avoided the negative and what was wrong or bad about a competitor. I always wanted to be the one on the high road.

Quality, Durability, Warranty, etc, etc All costs more money. If they want the best, meaning YOU, they have got to expect to pay a "little" more.

And if they want cheap, give them the name of a hack down the road. You may get a call a few months later to fix his shotty work.

Good luck.

Bill Z

They are telling you something is missing. Trust, product, price, company...it could be a number of things. Like someone else said, take some sales classes and learn a procedure so that you cover all the basics in your presentation.

If I let myself get into the above situation, I'd ask "What part do you need to know more about?

Try to figure out what they feel insecure about and focus on that. It's really hard to tell unless you have a plan to sell your company, product, yourself (trust), and price. It's pretty involved to deal with here.

DavidC

I just ran across this today and haven't checked it out yet myself, but I suspect it is relevant to the OP's concern. It's a 25 min. podcast (which is why I haven't listened yet) from Tim Nagel, aka remodelBuddy.

http://www.remodelbuddy.com/sales-process-podcast

Good Luck
Dave

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www.CookContractingLLC.com

mickey69125

I don't know how any of the rest of you do it, but when I'm in the market for a big ticket item I don't buy the first time I see one or talk with a salesman about it. I've found that if I do that I usually regret it. And I hate being pressured. If a salesman is pulling that on me I will walk out and definitely won't buy from him. On the other hand, I agree that if you offer a discount it is only good for that day or at most a week. Just my 2 cents.

__________________
I always learn more by listening that I do by talking.

bert0168

I am the same way as you on the big money items when it's me buying which leaves me conflicted when I am on the other end trying to sell a potential customer on a (to them) big ticket item. I am not comfortable with it.

I know the tactics some here say they use could be construed as high pressure sales and for some they work but for others it may not. I know I am not comfortable with them. But I will say that I have learned how to be a better salesman thru advice given here. Pick and chose those techniques that you are comfortable with and see what works for you.

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www.ddcontractors.net

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCCo. Yep, you guessed, sold by a fancy white guy, installed by the brown army.

nadtwins

There are all different types of customers out there. You first have to be able to read them before you decide what sales technique to use. Take a look at the other side of the coin - take me as a customer, I am a procrastinator when it comes to committing to a large dollar purchase. NOTHING turns be off more than sign now routine. I may have an idea of what I want to do and who I am going to sign with in a short amount of time but it could take me weeks before I pull the trigger and sign, that’s just the way “I” am. The harder you push me to sign the closer you get to the door. Let’s say I am looking at making a $50,000.00 commitment, 5% is not enough to force my hand. I am up front when asked “when am I ready to make the commitment” and I will answer “as soon as I make up my mind” I also warn them today is not that day and that I am a procrastinator. I also get a feel for who I am doing business with, how they react when I say not tonight, how long dose it take them to call me back when I call them 3 or 4 weeks later. At the end of the day you are really selling yourself and your company. You don’t want to sell price there will always be some one cheaper and the customers who buy price will never be happy.

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The day I stop learning is the day I die!

DavidC

Personally I don't care for the one call close just for the reasons stated. We don't even talk numbers on the first visit other than showing a project cost book.

Where I think the OP lost the sale was when they reached the negotiating stage he gave in on the price with no commitment in return. A lot of ground work goes into play before talking price at all, but once the potential starts asking for price concessions he is signaling a readiness to buy. The trial close is to let you know how serious he is at this point. If he is not ready than there is no point in offering concessions.

What happens is the customer closes on the salesman and gets a price concession. He did a trial close on the contractor. The contractor was eager and bit. Now he's got better ammo to leverage the other guys with. Poor first guy gave everything and got nothing. Chances are his "adjusted price" helped the prospect hammer someone else even lower.

Good Luck
Dave

__________________
www.CookContractingLLC.com

angus242

Just hang in there. I bet we all have had one that got away. It's a hard time right after getting rejected to make sense of it. Sometimes, you won't make sense of it. I had a similar situation. It was a $80K basement. I know we did way more at our presentation than the other contractor we were bidding against. We had better referrals. Everything looked as though it were a lock. I, too, got the dreaded "we decided to go another direction" phone call.

Honestly, I'm done worrying about it. It's a part of the business I'm in. I try to make each presentation better based off any that I didn't get. Trying to be better each time is about all you can do. There is no fool-proof method. All the advice in the world is never going to give you a guaranteed close. Some people are strong salesmen and others aren't. You need to work to your strengths. I am not a strong sales person so I rely on being very technical and educating my potential customers. I hope that makes the difference but it won't every time.

I have read some very interesting methods to help your close ratio on here. Do some searching and use your energy right now to bettering yourself instead of staying pissed.

Good luck in the future!

__________________
Angus
L+M+O+P=C
"Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise"

Darwin

If you have the prospect's email address, I would send him an inquiry right away.

"No use and crying over spilled milk on my end, Mr. X; however, I am very curious. Please share with me why you decided to go with another company.

I am attempting to clarify the way I conduct my company when meeting with prospects I service. The info you provide will give me better insight as to how better serve the general public. Please be candid; we around here at 'XX Construction' wear tough skin, and can take any compliments or critism in our furtherance to assure complete customer satisfaction.

Good Luck on the project ahead Mr. X and hopefully, you will consider my company for future projects."

Sincerely,
XX Contractor

Pipe Wrench

Met with the client, meet their needs, do your own research in the best way to accomplish whats needed, and memorize the specs and data. Then your ready to sell. But the best way to sell is to understand and trust what your selling. The tricky part now a days, is everyone is hurting and quality work is not as important as price. So go with the I recommend this, but I can due this also at a cheaper cost. Explain the difference and the why's, back to the spec's and data. Offer the options verses the this is the price approach. Quick one day sales to me is bs. Sign today save millions is a scam and weak practice. I'll provide potential clients with all the info I researched, the diffrences ect...
Sometimes they go with other poeple for price reasons and cheaper prices, but I usuallly get 2 clients in the same area, recommended by the original customer, you get what you pay for