Imagine you have just finished presenting a full kitchen remodeling project and now it comes time to review the price. You as the designer know that it is slightly higher than the client’s budget, but it is close and you do know that the pricing is consistent with the scope of work and products needed to complete the project.
Your client listens to your proposal and then states when you are finished that they are unhappy about the price and that it is more than they were prepared to pay.
Stop and think for a brief moment. How did the client phrase their reaction to the price?
They may have simply expressed an emotional reaction to the price. How many of us have ever shopped for a new car and after having seen the price thought “that was more than I was expecting”? Sure, if you have not shopped for a car in years, you will possibly respond with some sort of sticker shock reaction, thinking “this is more than I thought it would be.” The same is typically true for someone who has never remodeled a kitchen.
The important part for you as a Kitchen Designer and a salesperson is to realize that this client is not telling you that you need to offer a better price, nor are they saying that they won’t buy it for that price.
For those of you that were shopping for a car, I’ll bet you still ended up buying something, even though it was more expensive than you thought it would be.
Your client is expressing their emotional reaction to the price.
A perfect statement in reaction to this might be something like, “I completely understand, most of my clients have similar reactions.” or, “Yes, I understand this typically costs more than most people think it will.”
This is a way to acknowledge your client’s concerns with empathy and also show them that you have experience with this.
Your client is not only paying for a product. Your client is also paying you for your design, your insight, and your experience. Do not undervalue yourself!
Do Not Lower Your Price Without Removing A Product or Service from Your Quote.
I completely understand that you want to do what is needed to get the sale, but if you arbitrarily lower your price, you have now engaged in haggling over the price, rather than negotiating the price. In a negotiation, each party involved is expected to give something up and reach a compromise. You should not be giving something away without getting something in return. This is the basis of negotiation.
If you “find” a way to lower your price to satisfy your client and hopefully get them to buy, you are giving your client some signals you don’t want to.
- You are showing them that your price was too high, to begin with.
- You devalue your products and services.
- Should they return for another project or give you a referral, a discount on the next project will also be expected.
I was working with a designer who was doing a full remodel and she discounted the cost of the cabinets to accommodate the client. Then, when it came time to present the appliance package, the client asked what kind of discount they would be getting on that. She opened the flood gates and started this ball rolling and now it would be hard to stop without losing the client!
If your client absolutely needs a better price, remove something from the proposal that shows the item you removed is worth something. You could even ask them what part of the project they could do without so that you can help them to get a lower price. This shows them that if they want the whole package, that it has a certain value.
Keep your integrity and show the value in your work!
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- For more discussions on this, please read my post entitled Stand By Your Price! https://sapretraining.com/stand-by-your-price/