This week I’m going to keep it light. We’re all winding down for the break – even those with end-of-year goals to hit are feeling a hint of the Christmas Break Feeling we had from our school days. So, I’m just going to share some stories about our craft of selling, with the goal of sparling ideas and motivation.
While speaking with a potential customer about their business, I was rather discouraged by his description of the state of his sales. “It’s all about price these days. It’s not like it was 20 years ago. Our customers will jump to a competitor in a heartbeat to save a few pennies. There’s just no customer loyalty anymore.”
For those of you nodding your head right now and reminiscing about the good ole days 20 years ago, prepare yourself … I had this conversation during the summer of 1995.
The internet has changed buying and selling in the security industry over the last 15-20 years … there is no doubt about that. My entire business of sales consulting and training is based on that change and helping my clients take advantage of the opportunities in front of them. However, customer loyalty and price-checking has always been a challenge and will always be a challenge; but customer loyalty is there … you just have to uncover the cloud between you and your customers.
Another conversation I had last week with a friend of mine, Larry, about his goals for 2016 … Larry owns a new construction business. He and his partner have a goal in 2016 to maintain their top line, but grow their bottom line. When I asked how he was going to do it, he said by beating up his sub-contractors. He then shared this with me… “You know Chris, people are starting to take notice of us and all kinds of suppliers are knocking on our door. But I’m loyal and don’t take the calls. I don’t even have relationships with some of our suppliers, but I’m still loyal to them. Since we’re busier than ever, I use the ‘loyalty card’ to justify losing money … and I know we’re losing money.”
I then replaced my friend hat with my sales consultant hat: “You know you can accept quotes from others and still hold your loyalty, right?”
Larry was one step ahead of me. He and his partner had a plan. “Yes, right after the New Year we’re going to meet with the suppliers who have built relationships with us, and let them know ahead of time that we’re opening up the jobs to others. We’re going to be clear that their past performance will be a factor, but price will also be a factor in our decision. In other words, if they’re a point or two higher, we’ll go with them. If they’re 20 points higher, we’ve got a problem.”
Think about the suppliers that haven’t built a relationship with Larry and his partner. Regardless of what Larry tells me in December, do you think they’ll really choose at a higher price over a competitor? Maybe the first time, but by April they’re out of there. However, the suppliers who have gotten to know them and built a unique relationship will be able to have the hard conversations and continue to keep their business. It may be a little less margin for them, but they’ll keep the business and a healthy margin.
Larry is not unique – most of your customers are like this. It’s up to you to create that value and the personal relationships. When the cheap competition comes knocking on their door, you’ll continue to get a chance to compete … and not only on price.
