So lately I’ve focused on countering the inevitable customer objections. (Remember your greatest challenge is the Smoke Screen Objection!)
Now if you are charging more than the “going price” HOPEFULLY you often hear variations of “Why are you so much more expensive than…?”
If so, GREAT! Price objections just told me I was right on with my “Point of Pain” pricing model! And WHY should you be charging more than your competition?
Steve’s RANT: Our cleaning and restoration industry is afflicted with hard working people that DON’T HAVE A CLUE on what (and how) to charge! So they lurch through life struggling economically while subjecting themselves (and their families!) to incredible stress and pain! Don’t be that guy! Remember- there is NO VIRTUE IN POVERTY! (I feel better now!)
Listen carefully: The vast majority of your “Why are you so expensive…?” customers don’t really care about price! They are just playing a game and you need to play it right back! Do so with the venerable…
“Feel- Felt- Found” Reply!
This classic “Triple F” sales trick has been around forever because it WORKS! Let’s analyze “Feel- Felt- Found” at the end of a pre-inspection…
You: “So the total price for everything will be $433.84.”
Client: “Wow! That is a lot more than I’m used to paying!”
You: “I understand how you FEEL.” (They expect you to be “defensive” but you empathize and find “common ground”.)
Client: “I mean, I could just about replace the carpet for that much money!”
You: “Yes, some of our best clients FELT that way too in the past.” (You are not the only ones that felt this way and yet…)
You: “But then they FOUND that there are so many benefits to our service. For example…” (You are now off and running with your “features/benefits” explanation and your client has been “detoured” off of price!)
Now does this “Triple F Reply” ALWAYS work? Of course not! So if your prospect stubbornly resists you? Then become Winston Churchill and keep on fighting! NOTE: Download my free Special Report: Winning Over the Price Shopper (Without Losing Your Shirt!)
Commercial HINT: “Feel- Felt- Found” works great on frugal facility managers. After all, you understand how they FEEL- even the cheapest manager wants his “pain” to go away and many of your accounts that FELT you were too expensive FOUND out … Or simply ask your contact, “How far apart are we?”
Restoration HINT: Most insureds don’t want their flooded carpets restored- they want NEW carpeting. (Can you blame them?) So divide the loss into two phases. Then use your “Triple F Reply” before the Restoration Phase. And don’t forget to automatically “reapply the protective finish” on the restored carpet!
Steve