The Price For Showing Price Too Soon – The Wrap-Up

We’ve learned some of the problems with showing price too soon in recent articles. So what about customers who insist on getting the price now, and it feels unavoidable?

How should we deal with giving out the price during a sales call to a couple who are in the buying process, but for whatever reason, they say they need several days before they can make a decision? Maybe they insist on finishing up on their promise to get a few more bids and you aren’t able to change their minds.

If we hand out our numbers without any presentation, then they have our price and we’re just a high number, the expensive company compared to the cheaper ones, right? How do we handle that? Here’s what I suggest.

Number one, if you’re on a service call and they say something like, “Hey, can you just give me a bid? We’re not going to purchase this year.” You just tell them what we just talked about. Probably what you tell them in many cases anyway.

“Mr. Homeowner, you know, these proposals are only good for 30 days; the industry has so much inflation and price increases coming our way. It would be unfair to you if I gave you a number now, especially without even explaining how we do our proper installations. So I’ll be happy to come out as often as you like when you guys get a little closer to making the decision. Just let me know that time arrives and you won’t regret it.”

Now you have a fighting chance. You’re waiting to give them an updated, live price when they’re actually ready to make their decision. Especially if you’ve used the sales tips we’ve covered in the past.

If you’re on an actual sales call instead of a service call, here’s where it can be more difficult.

If you’re on an actual sales call, there’s a part of the sales presentation (if you have been through the full sales training, you’ll recognize it) where we do what’s called the Intention Statement.

This normally occurs within the first 30 minutes of your visit on a sales call. It comes after you’ve gone through your comfort survey, hot spots, cold spots, allergies, all that stuff. And the last question on your survey is what we call the intention statement. It sounds like this:

“Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner, have you ever had a bad experience with a pushy salesperson?” And they’ll say, “Oh, definitely.” And they’ll usually tell you a story about a car dealership or the like.

You say, “Well, I got good news for you. I’m not a pushy salesman. I’m a professional HVAC design consultant. This is what I do for a living. It’s how I take care of my family. It’s how I serve my community. We are very proud of the work that we do here at (insert your company name here). What I have found to be best for my homeowners is doing three things tonight.

First, I will take all the time you need to answer all your questions, so don’t feel rushed even for a moment. Second, I’ll design the right system to suit your family’s needs. And third, I’ll make sure it fits into your monthly budget.

All I ask is that you let me know at the end of that process whether or not we’re a good fit for you and your family. And by the way, ‘No’ will be a perfectly acceptable answer.”

That’s called the intention statement and it has multiple purposes. It’s a very subtle and very respectful way to get your homeowner to raise any questions or objections before you’ve given them all your information like your pricing. And it comes before all the other good information you’re going to give them about your amazing installations because all that stuff is towards the end of the presentation.

It’s what I call a “RED LIGHT / GREEN LIGHT” moment in the sales process. Let’s say I’m on the sales call and I’m speaking with the wife. And she says to me, “No, I can’t give you an answer today because my husband isn’t here.” It’s a red neon flashing stop sign.

You’re not going to have the opportunity to close. She’s telling you in so many words. If you go ahead and finish your full presentation and leave her a price, you might as well have burned that lead unless you’re the cheap guy. She might call back the cheap, but that’s not who you are, right? So if she’s telling you she can’t make a decision tonight (during the intention statement), then no matter how good your presentation is, you’ll still hear the same at the end, “I have to speak to my husband.” And by then you would have told her your prices.

You’d be hoping that she would go to her husband and explain to him why you’re $3,000 more than other companies, in a way that makes sense, in the exact way you explained it to her. She’s not gonna be able to do it. There’s a big difference between her wanting to buy from you and her being prepared to sell you to her husband.

Her husband will say, “You’re getting scammed by a salesman. Just go with the cheap guy.” So if I get that red flashing light at the intention statement and she’s telling me there’s no chance to close, I’ll break it off there and schedule the follow-up. Now it’s not the preferred outcome, but sometimes you have to read the room and pivot to the logical path to save the deal. It’s better to do that than to burn the lead, because at least I will have preserved the opportunity for the future sale.

Instead of giving her a hard time or insulting her, I’m going to say, “No, I understand that completely. It’d be the same way in my house. What I want to do today is to go ahead and do my heat-gain and heat-loss calculations as recommended by the Department of Energy. I’m going to do a survey. I’ve already seen a couple of things I want to talk to my install manager about.

What I’d like to do is to take all that data back to my office, prepare your load calculation, prepare several different options from basic efficiency to high efficiency, and then what I’d like to do is to come back out and maybe get your husband here and get him involved in the design process.”

Don’t say “decision-making process.” That’s a big red flag.

“We’ll involve your husband in the design process and then we’ll present the options to both of you. When will he be available to do that?” That’s your best opportunity to schedule. But don’t tell her, “I’m not going to present to you because you can’t make a decision by yourself and I’m not gonna waste my time.”

You need to have respect in your voice, in your tone, and in your words.

She’s going to be your biggest advocate because you spent 45 minutes or so with her. You’ve given off the vibe that you’re smart and not pushy. You’re chill.

So when I return next week or whenever, I’ll have both homeowners present and that will give me a shot to close some business. That’s turning a challenge into an ideal situation.

The general rule is that you should never tell somebody how much it costs until they understand what it does for them.

And when we just drop off a number without any sales communications, we’re taking away that right.