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Number 108 | July 19, 2002
© 2002 Designer Blinds

FACING PRICE COMPETITION!   

You’ve worked hard with a customer to specify just the right products in the perfect color, in the perfect size to perfectly meet her needs.  Two days later, she calls to tell you that somebody else is offering the “same products” at  
a significantly lower price.  So what do you do? 

If your first reaction in such a situation is to instinctively pull out a calculator to see if you can meet the price, you may be making a big mistake.  The first thing to remember in this is a customer telling you that she wants to buy from you.  The very fact that the customer didn’t already place the order with your competitor should tip you off  that something about your competitor is making her uneasy.  Your job is to find what it is that is making her uncomfortable with the other dealer and play on that.  If you approach it skillfully, and work toward closing the sale, you may be able to, in some cases, save this customer from making a decision based on price that she’ll come to regret. 

SO, WHY IS THE PRICE LOWER?
The big question your customer has on her mind is, “Why is the price so much lower?”  How do you answer that?  How might a competitor offer a lower price on products for which they most likely pay the same price as you?  There are plenty of ways.  Here are a few of them:

1. TIME IS MONEY

The most obvious way a competitor can beat your price may stem from the fact that they simply didn’t have to spend as much time selecting products and colors as you did.  Most likely, a customer that comes back to you may feel a little guilty because you spent so much time helping them choose. Work on this guilt by pointing out that you offer a lot of time consuming service but only charge for product.  Keep in mind that there are designers who do nothing more than specify –and charge a pretty hefty fee for it.  While this may not be what you do, there is a fair price to be paid for this service.  Many dealers that lead with lower prices do not want to be the first dealer to talk to a customer –simply because this means that they can spend less time selecting products. They may even have insisted with the customer that she talk to someone else first.  If this may be the case, point it out to your customer. It will help her to see that there is a value to the time you’ve spent. Improving your closing skills can prevent the second dealer from even getting in the door.

2. IS IT REALLY THE SAME PRODUCT (part 1)?

Remember that your customer is uneducated about window coverings. On average, its been seven or eight years since the last time she bought blinds or shades.  She may have done some research, but she hasn’t had the time to become truly knowledgeable about the products you work with every day.  She may know that you showed Hunter Douglas products and so did your competitor.  But does she fully understand that Hunter Douglas has similar products at different price points in similar colors and styles?  Can she really see the difference between say a WoodMates™ blind and an EverWood™ blind? Between Applause® and Duette® honeycomb shades? Or even between a Nantucket® and Silhouette® window shadings? A low-price competitor will spend a few minutes  stressing that both products carry the Hunter Douglas brand to make your customer think she is comparing identical products when, in fact she is not.  Make sure she understands the reasons that you selected the products you did by reinforcing the things you talked about when selecting the products.  Be prepared to move to a lower product in some cases.  It’s better than cutting into your profits on a more expensive product.  But first emphasize your reasons for choosing the products you did. 

3. IS IT REALLY THE SAME PRODUCT (part two)

Does your customer know how you measured the product?  For example, on an outside mount Luminette® Privacy Sheer® you may have spent a lot of time following the guidelines in the Reference and Price Guide and added the recommended overlap of four inches at each side and five inches at the top.  While this adds a lot of benefit to the product, an unscrupulous competitor may simply cover the same opening to the edges of the window with little or no overlap at the sides or the top.  This could actually move the product by as much as three steps on the price grid –a significant difference in price.  Your customer may only know that the competitor offered a Luminette sheer on the same opening for a significantly lower price without being aware that they may be giving up a significant benefit as well –privacy.  Make sure your customer knows how you measured and why.  When your customer realizes what the other dealer has done, whether purposely or through ignorance, her confidence in that dealer will fade –just as her confidence in you will increase.

Price competition can be tough, but it’s not impossible to beat without sacrificing profits.  Remember that you are playing on a fairly level field.  If there is a significant difference in price against a dealer offering similar services, you can bet there is a reason for it.  Above everything else, work on your closing skills so that the customers you talk to don’t even want to start with your competitors.