It cost too much!
 

Have you ever heard this before? Or does this just happen here in California? Here is how to handle it.
1) Agree with them
2) By pass it
If they say it again
3) Rephrase it back to them (IT COST TOO MUCH?)
4) Ask How much too much is it?
5) Reduce it to the Ridiculous
Here is how!
Ask how long do they plan on owning their vehicle for example 3 years and they say it is $300 to much.
You take the $300 and divide it by 3 years which is $100 per year
take the $100 and divide it by 52 weeks and that would be $19 per week
Divide the $19 per week and divide it by 7 which is $2.71 a day
Ask them would it be worth giving up less than a cup of coffee a day to have the best?

Wow, perhaps this is why I'd make a terrible salesman. I always felt honesty and integrity would go a long way in having a return customer - instead of one who gets reamed once, and never comes back to your store.

Is the goal to make a sale, or build a customer base?

First you have to understand, If you drop your prices that is not selling. If you believe in what you have to offer and it is worth it, then you sell it. McDonalds doesn't drop their prices, in fact they will try and up sell you on an Apple Pie. Discounting is going out of business on the payment plan. I had my store for more than 23 years and had second generation clients. I sold myself first, my store second, my installation dept. third and then the product. If you get them out of whack, you will suffer the cost. I hope this answers your question. I will add one thing, when I was 15 years old I started my professional sales career. This is what stuck with me the most. Take the best and leave the rest. If the client has the money and you qualified that they do, then it your job to make sure they get dollar for dollar the best you have to offer, NOT THE CHEAPEST! You owe it to them, you owe it to yourself and your employer if you have one. It called Job Security.

I don't disagree that it would be your job to sell the customer the best they can afford. But using the logic in your first post to "trick" them into buying what they feel is "too much" is a little shady, in my opinion. Perhaps its just the tactics that I don't like.

I tried to tell you Del...

TragicMagic, with a name like that no wonder you think it is trying to "trick" some one. Sales are made by emotion back up by logic. Let me ask you a question, if someone comes in and because you couldn't justify the amount (without taking it in your pants) and they go and buy something somewhere else cheaper and it breaks down, who's fault is it? Theirs or yours?

I really don't think this is the place to be preaching this. There's a very limited number of car audio salesman on this forum.

Whether you know it or not, your in sales. The farmer who grows a crop had to buy the see before he could grow it. He buys a tractor and plants the seed, but you say He not in sales, he is when he sales it to the grocery store. He is in sales. If you can't sell what you do as an installer you will work for peanuts. I have trained the 2010, and the 2011 installers of the year on how to sell their services because they had to learn that just having the title means nothing if you cant sell it. If you don't want to learn then don't. But don't try and hinder the people that need help in getting a head in life. So when business is down maybe you can buddy up with somebody and cry in your beer together. But in the mean time those who want to get ahead, I will gladly help and they will get ahead. So the comment about this is hardly a sales forum. Think again, everybody is in sales.

Why was this thread started? Am I being told things or asked advice? :sly: Why should I open any other threads by this Del Ellis - they seem pointless. I'm going to help my fellow DIY enthusiasts and ignore his pointless rants from now on. :stroke: