Lowest Price Gaurantee?

gcajnr21

How does this work? I heard some Painters use it for their advertisments.
Can someone explain how it works. Im a newb Painter

thanks-Troy

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Troy McNeely

Oklahoma City Metro Area Paint Contractor
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KENNEDY

It works by lowballing and undercutting reputable and legitimate businesses. In all, offering ridiculously low prices only hurts all of us in the end by bringing down the level of wages, professionalism, and in the end most likely quality.

I would much rather have my business known by the good work, great customer service, and reasonable prices for the level of quality we produce.

CHEAP = CHEAP

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Sean Kennedy
St. Louis Painting Contractor
Kennedy Painting LLC

Grumpy

Use it for advertisements if you want but by no means should it be an actual policy. However is this really the type of customer you want to target?!

In my opinion it is used only as an advertising or sales gimick. Anyone actually "beating any price" is a fool IMO. When a potential customer tells me so and so is cheaper, I always say "good, I don't want to be the cheapest." I pause here and look at the shock on their face "...I want to the best."

If you implement a "beat all price" advertising campaign use it purely for one of two reasons. 1) Hoping the people call you first assuming you have the lowest price and then you can charge what you want to charge. 2) When they say so and so is cheaper you ask to see the proposal and you rip it apart, metophorically of coarse. "They aren't doing this, they aren't doing that. Our materials are better. You are comparing apples to oranges."

George Z

There is an apples to apples lowest price guarantee that some paint contractor use.
One of them is a member here. It's just a way to justify why top quality contractors are expensive.
They are by no means cheap.

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Mike Finley

We have a low price guarantee, it gets presented to each customer. We are never the lowest. I've never once had a single customer who didn't hire us because we were too expensive bring up the price guarantee.

KENNEDY

I'm talking about the $39.99 housewash or any room painted for $100 type stuff. Or especially dropping your price to match another's proposal. How can you know what kind of work another company will do from looking at a proposal?

I do agree with Grumpy that if you advertise for lowest price you will probably get customers shopping on price alone. With these type of clients, IMO, there is no customer loyality and the next guy along offering a $10 off coopon will get their business.

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Sean Kennedy
St. Louis Painting Contractor
Kennedy Painting LLC

George Z

Apples to apples means that the contractor:

Is licensed,
fully insured,
has as many references as ...
Offers the same guarantee with maintenance
Has the same scope of work
A written detailed proposal etc. etc.

That contractor would not be cheap (the one I was refering to is over $65/hr.
It's just a way to justify why top quality contractors are expensive,
lets customer discuss other proposals, and educate them what apples to apples is.
It is mostly a marketing thing though, nobody really asks for it.

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Grumpy

Quite obviously a professional proposal will state exactly what is to be done. True you don't know exactly what they are going to do, but if you are doing two coats of paint after patching and sanding and their proposal says one coat... You know you are doing more, and thus you have a sales point. If you proposal are too vague not syaing what you are going to do then you need to change them.

I'm in the roofing business, where most people buy one maybe two roofs in their life. Most guys in my business can care less about customer loyalty for this reason. However since I do more than roofing, llike siding gutters and windows, I do what I can to stay in the customer's mind.

Grumpy

I should add that I do not mess with low price guarantees for my current business but I have been contimplating setting up a seperate doing something totally ordinary but in a totally unique way, and this company will definetly be selling on price and offering a "beat all" price guarantee. But it will simply be a marketing tool.

dougchips

We use a low price guarantee only when closing a sale if they want other estimates. If they say give me a couple of days to see if your price is good or a similar objection. I ask how many days do you need, if they respond 3 days then I will offer them a guarantee for 5 days that they can not beat my price or I will match it or give them $200 or $300 dollars. *This is if they sign the same visit.

Small print:
1. Same brand, style and options.
2. An establish company with a business location (not weekend hacks)
3. A company that runs criminal background checks on their staff.
4. A company that drug test their employees.
5. A company with liability insurance and WC.
6. A company that has been in business for more than 5 years.
7. A company without any negative history with the state licensing board.

If someone can find a better price from someone who offers all the above, god bless them they get my money.

BTW, I have never had to write a check yet!

Gordo

I like that dougchips. I would like to use those points. O.K.?

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Looks like some pros were here.

dougchips

Help yourself Gordo, unless I move back down to Virginia. I forgot to add that we check the state's sex offender board to insure the clients will not have sex offenders in their house.

I would love to hear a client actually call another company and ask these questions....the line would have to go dead.

slickshift

You really don't want to operate your biz this way
There is always someone more hungry, more thirsty, more addicted, and more desperate than you who will under bid you

You are much better off figuring out what you have to charge, then finding the customers with the ability to pay for it

Yes it means you can't rely on "but I'm the cheapest" for the close
You really don't want those people looking for "just the cheepest" as your customers anyway
They are not good customers

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Signature Quote

Quote:

Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

Gordo

I hear you. Although, I thing 'Chips' has a good idea going. If I understand him correctly, he give his price then if ho backpeddles then you hit them with the criteria listed above.

The criteria will eliminate 95% of the competion.

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Looks like some pros were here.

George Z

Apples to apples cheapest is not cheap.
We don't use that but believe me, the person that explained it to me
is not cheap.

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dougchips

Gordo, correct. If they want to see cheap I can show them pictures of hacked up jobs or have them look on-line a the state's database of contractor complaints. If I can not convince them of the "value" then I failed to educate them. Some people (scratch ticket customers) just don't want to pay for value and will take their chances. I really feel sorry for these people because I will drive by their house and take pictures if they get a hack job. If they truly did not have the money to pay for quality the first time, how are they going to pay for it the 2nd time?

Brian

I use a low price guarantee and have for years. My purpose is not to attractive price shoppers, but to get the customer to focus on issues other than price. In five years I have never been called on it, even though my prices are typically 50% to 100% higher.

To qualify, the customer must have a bid from a qualified contractor. To be qualified he must carry insurance, submit a written extimate with the same specs and materials, etc.

Qualified contractors price their work similar to mine, so it's really a non-issue.

Brian Phillips

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Mike Finley

Brian sums it up, at least the way we use the lowest price guarantee, the idea of it isn't to be the lowest price and get every job, the real idea is to get the customer to compare apples to apples. Ideally it would open up communication when the customer shows you a bid lower than yours because the guy submitting it is a hack, this would allow you to explain the differences between the level or professionalism you bring.