The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

Smart Business: What To Do When Your Price Is Too High

By Jim Olsztynski
April 15, 2008
Price resistance is a daily occurrence for trade contractors.



How much to charge for your services is the focal point of any trade business. Charge too much, and you won’t get the job; charge too little, and you’ll go broke. Then you have to face the facts that every job is different, estimating is an inexact science, and customers always can get a bid that’s cheaper if they shop around. Many customers subscribe to the old wives’ tale that they are best served by getting three quotes and taking the one in the middle. In most cases, the top bidder is likely to be the only one of the bunch who has built enough into his quote to make a profit.

Consequently, price resistance is a daily occurrence for people in your business. The temptation is great to lower your price in order to get the work, but, in the long run, that’s a path to bankruptcy. Instead, it’s essential to convince the customer that the price you quote is fair and of better value than the customer can get from competitors offering a lower price.

Top sales professionals will tell you that every price objection amounts to a failure to sufficiently sell your value. That’s true as far as it goes, but what you need to focus on are some specific strategies to help you hold the line on what you need to charge in order to prosper. Here are some tips that I’ve picked up over the years from a varity of successful trade contractors.

Professionalism counts. You’ll always have a strong case for your higher price if you convey a better impression than the competitors do. This means no “ballpark figure” numbers on hand-scrawled pieces of paper. Would you buy a brand-new rig from a deal-er whose paperwork amounted to a legal pad and barely legible handwriting? Use preprinted business forms to record measurements, data and notes. Put it inside a presentation folder that includes technical literature, a company brochure, copies of your license and insurance information, product cut sheets and anything else the customer might find useful. Especially include testimonials from satisfied customers. Throw in some notepads, refrigerator magnets and some other promo items with your logo and contact information. Professionalism also means making an appointment for the bid presentation and – especially – showing up on time, dressed in a presentable manner. This doesn’t necessarily mean wearing a suit and tie. It does mean changing out of soiled work clothes. A monogrammed shirt with your company insignia would be fine.

Sell your expertise. Draw attention to special qualifications you or anyone else in your company may have. These could include academic credentials and certifications, trade association leadership positions, articles written about you or your company, articles you may have written for trade magazines and so on. Think of everything you’ve accomplished that even remotely relates to your business, and lay it on the line. Add up the combined years of experience of everyone in your company, so you can say, “We have been doing this for more than a half century” or whatever the timeline might be.

Make sure all buyer influences are present. With married couples, make sure both parties are present during your presentation. A husband might think he’s the one making the decision, but if the wife expresses dismay at your bid, your hard work in selling the job could easily go down the drain. With commercial work, take time to talk to all decision makers. The project manager may be on your side, but the CEO could overrule his recommendation, so try to make a presentation to the CEO as well.

Make sure comparisons are apples-to-apples. Where competing bids are involved, ask to see how the competitors’ quotes are presented. Go through them in detail and point out areas where your bid includes things theirs do not. Educate the customer about things to look for regarding scope of work, qualifications to look for in choosing a contractor, why certain products are better than others, and what distinguishes good workmanship from poor. Talk about the potential consequences of things going wrong, and the protections you offer that others may not.

Avoid disparaging competitors. It’s OK to differentiate your bid from theirs and point out things you do that they don’t, but take the high road. Avoid badmouthing competitors. Focus on the positives about your company rather than their negatives. Various studies have shown that people react negatively to negativism. Aim to conduct yourself in a more professional manner than the other bidders.

Encourage questions. Keep asking would-be customers things like, “Is there anything more you’d like to know about this project?” “What more can I tell you that would be helpful?” “Do you have any questions?” This demonstrates concern for them, and also helps to clarify misunderstandings before they arise.

Provide options. Top salespeople always sell up by selling down. They know that presenting options in a “best-better-good” order works better than starting “good-better-best.” That’s because consumer psychology is such that people will tend to get fixated on the price of the “good” option and tune out everything that’s more expensive. But if you first entice them by explaining the features and benefits of the best option, they will feel a sense of loss when you explain what they have to give up by going down in price. Nonetheless, if they get sticker shock at your “best” offer, the option still exists for them to scale down to a more comfortable price range.

Negotiate warranties, schedules, etc. If the customer proves to be a tough price negotiator, think of things you can give up without much pain instead of lowering your price. Maybe it’s extending the workmanship warranty beyond the standard length, or making some scheduling concession, or extending the payment period.

Guarantee satisfaction. This takes guts, and you better be really good at what you do, but a “satisfaction guaranteed” sales pitch often does the trick. Use appropriate disclaimers, but simply tell the customer that you’ll assure the job gets done to their complete satisfaction. (Some businesses offer money-back guarantees, but that’s a little too risky with high-volume jobs.) Put it in writing, because verbal guarantees too often get remembered differently by buyer and seller.
ND 

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Geotechnical Investigation
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Markets
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Water Wells
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.
Unable to fetch comments.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

Tariffs

Tariffs Shake Up the Drilling Industry

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • Smart Business: The Customer Is Not Always Right. What Then?

    See More
  • Smart Business: How to Hang on to Your Job

    See More
  • Smart Business: 21 Things Customers Have a Right to Expect from You

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\ND\new site\in-too-deep.gif

    In Too Deep: BP and the Drilling Race That Took it Down

  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\ND\new site\a-builders-guide-to-wells-a.gif

    A Builder's Guide to Wells and Septic Systems, Second Edition

See More Products

Related Directories

  • DrillerDB

    Streamline your drilling operations both in the field and the office. DrillerDB offers cloud-based tools for invoicing, depth estimates, form generation, and more - helping you save time and focus on what you do best. We offer a cloud-based software built for drillers by drillers that includes: - Proposals - Project Mapping - Depth Estimation - Rig Scheduling - Customer Managment - File Upload - Field Well Log Filling - + Much more!
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP