Improve Sales by Avoiding Budget Shock

When we fail to win a job, our first thought is the job has gone to a competitor. Often this is the case, but if we are not following up on quotes, we might be surprised how many jobs don’t go ahead at all.

There are many reasons why a job might not go ahead, but one of the most common reasons is budget shock. Our customer might have done their online research and have a good idea about the price of product, but they often have only a rough idea of how much they need (especially when it comes to roll goods), and no idea as to installation costs. If floor prep is required, the total cost can be significantly greater than expected; at the lower end of the product price range, floor prep and installation can be more than the price of the product.

It takes time and effort to measure and quote a project, and if the client has no understanding of where the price might end up, we might be wasting their time and ours. As salespeople, if we find out after submitting our quote that the price was significantly more than the customer expected, then we didn’t do our job very well.

At the car sales yard, we expect to hear the question, “What’s your budget?”. Neither the salesperson nor us want to spend time looking at vehicles outside of our price bracket. It should be no different in a flooring store, except our job is somewhat more difficult, because, at the early stages at least, we have no idea how much area is involved in the project and we don’t know what sort of floor preparation might be required.

Most people enter a flooring project with little or no idea what the cost will be. It’s our job as salespeople to find out what they expect the cost might be, and then to gently educate them on some of the costs they may not have anticipated. Best possible outcome is we give them a realistic estimate, eliminating the shock they feel when they get our quote. Good salespeople have long been employing budget questions to qualify customers and to establish realistic expectations.

A new tool available to salespeople to help manage price expectations are tablet-based quantifying apps such as Measure Mobile. On Measure Mobile the salesperson can draw up room sizes to the approximate shape and size of the client's rooms, apply a product, and then use the checklist feature to calculate all the possible costs that might apply to the project. This is going to give the customer a realistic estimate as to the cost they might expect, and if it’s too much, the salesperson can use the app to switch out products that might better meet the budget.

Where there is a difference between what the customer had budgeted and what they will likely need to pay, the salesperson can use the tools within Measure Mobile to calculate payment over an extended period to improve affordability. We can even take photos of the various products the customer is considering and attach the images to an estimate that can be emailed to the customer.

A process like this not only ensures everyone is on the same page in terms of price expectations, but it’s an engaging process your customer will likely not have got when visiting your competition.

If you would like to see how Measure Mobile can help your salespeople do a more effective job of working with your customers, an online demo can be arranged by contacting us here.