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REAL ISSUES. REAL ANSWERS: Valuing Services

“The best way is to be sure that the customer understands the value of well-trained and knowledgeable sales staff, yard crews and managers. Time is money and we guarantee on-time delivery, estimates and return pick up, all of which saves them money. We invest in our people and our equipment to ensure the best possible scenario for the customer and the most profitable way to operate their business.”


“Separate lines on quote for delivery and rooftop loading that are easy to identify.”


“Un-bundle all of our pricing.”

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“By not quoting to get work; only to help your customers budget work. As Bill Lee says, ‘quoting isn’t selling.’ Build relationships and partnerships with your customers, so that if they build something, they look to you to provide the materials.”


“Same day delivery is something that is expected. Boom trucks in our market (metro Boston) are also a required service.”


“This is the responsibility of the outside sales rep or inside sales rep to discuss with the client. If we don’t point it out, shame on us. Customers will take it for granted if we don’t do our part to help them admit to the differences.”

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“In a nutshell, price, quality, and service are the balancing act. If you spell it out to the customer, one will be costly one way or the other. We try to make it simple and tell them our slightly higher price make the other two shine.”


“We stress that our store is locally owned and operated, because all of our competitors are either chains or are owned by out-of-state companies.”


“Become an intellectual property early on in the design phases of the project to the point where you become a member of the team and play a significant role in the decision-making process.”

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“Highlight alternate products and added value services in the body of the quote, and put a dollar value on it. In other words, put a price on a delivery charge and discuss the need for efficiency in scheduling. Alternate products often bring otherwise unseen value, like weather-resistant subfloor during winter months.”


“Promise a little, but deliver a lot. This builds rapport for return customers.”


“Mention options available upfront and guide the customer in his/her decision-making. No one likes surprises! The customer doesn’t want to be
surprised with an unexpected higher cost, and the salesperson doesn’t have to deal with demands for services from the customer. Life is all about choice.”


“It’s all about the relationship between our team and the customer base. Those ‘unseen’ benefits to doing business with us have to be explained
and experienced.”


“Give your quote and spell out the services and partnership you are providing with that price. People want to do business with friends, so as long as you have a history of taking care of your customer and their needs, remind them of it.”


“In a perfect world, I think those would be great things to itemize at the bottom of every quote with a big, bold ‘$0.00’ next to them. Realistically, that doesn’t get done for us. We just do our best to mention those services when we can.”


“Stated in the proposal and again in our marketing literature, attested to with personal testimony and reference.”


“I think it comes down to the salesperson and their presentation of the quote. Presenting the quote in person, and specifically pointing out our value-added services is critical. We’ve found that selling ourselves is just as important as selling the product. And we make sure the customer understands that we want to be a part of their project from start to finish.”


“We discuss with the customer the process that will take place for their order beginning with activities in our warehouse. This helps both parties understand the requirements of the order and underscores our attention to detail that others gloss over.”


“Explaining the value in dealing with one supplier for a larger portion of their building materials—fewer invoices, one point of contact, access to the owner of the company, etc.”


“For customers thinking of buying from the box stores, we encourage them to compare our delivery fees and the speed of our deliveries in hours, not days.”

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