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REAL ISSUES. REAL ANSWERS: Price Wars

“Provide cost-saving alternatives, vary specification, value-engineer cost prohibitive product options.”


“Our company absorbs most of the loss.”


“My best defense when dealing with a price war is to remain relentlessly positive and upbeat when working with my customers. I stress the value and experience that I bring to the table and have no problem pointing out that although they are the winners in a price war, it is strictly short-term. No company can afford for any length of time to give rock bottom prices, great service, and high quality. Eventually the pricing will rise, service will fall off, or the competitor will go away. It may mean financial pain in the short run, but if you stand your ground with all that you bring to the table, you will come out ahead in the end.”

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“Cut down on deliveries to high pressure customers, and let them discover how expensive ‘cheap materials’ really are.”


“Our people get paid the same whether we make our desired profit or not.”


“Everyone suffers equally.”

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“We seek vendor assistance if comparable (but not identical) products are being footballed.”


“Engage a fury of bidding on as many potential jobs as possible. We will remove the normal boundaries and bid on projects large and or small, then dilute the lessened margins by increasing margins on the entirety of the projects, not all of which will be impacted by competition, and those we secure mitigate the otherwise beat down margins.”


“The sales team has the ability to walk away from a price war. They have the ability to explain to the customer why we are worth more to them than our price cutting competitor. Our team knows the negative impact of lowering a price will have on their income.”

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“We don’t jump into every price war. We pick our battles and engage.”


Have a Real Issue? Contact me at Rick@LBMJournal.com.

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