Selling More than Price
Have you ever been low bid and didn’t get the job?
It doesn’t seem right. How did it happen? What can you do to avoid that in the future? Bidding more and more jobs will not guarantee a steady flow of profitable work in today’s competitive market.
When a client doesn’t hear from contractors, they can only assume we are too busy to help and don’t have anything valuable to offer, except a low price. Or we don’t think meeting with them will make a difference. They are wrong. Face-to-face sales build relationships, trust, and a desire to work together.
Do you sell more than price?
Customers demand and expect more than a cheap price today. And most contractors and subcontractors are proud of their quality work, reputation, and expertise and customer service. But, if your potential customer isn’t aware of the added value you offer, he or she can only evaluate your bid/estimate/proposal based on low price. Your written bid looks very unconvincing stacked up against five or 10 other bidders. The only differentiating factors are the prices, inclusions, and exclusions. Is that the only factors you want your company to be judged on?
What you can use to sell more than price:
- Written marketing and sales plans, provide direction.
- Pro-active customer relationship follow-up programs.
- Consistent monthly mailings to target markets.
- Consistent customer reminders of project niche expertise and specialties.
- Sales training for all estimators, project managers, and salespeople.
- A systematic referral networking system in place.
- Key managers are very active in their industry and community.
- Never bid a job without meeting the decision maker first.
- Always ask what the most important factor in awarding the job is.
If you want to sell more than price and improve profit margins, you’ve got to offer more than a low price on a piece of paper. You must convince customers you are the best choice.
A pro-active systematic approach to selling that goes on all year must be implemented. 
Take your customers to lunch or a ball game. Send them an article/note/blog that shows how you helped another customer finish their project faster. Ask them how you can help them make more money. Send them a handwritten note thanking them for the contract or the opportunity to bid their work. When you make your bid only one small part of your complete selling process, you will begin to see real bottom-line and top-line results.
