
It’s not about the price. It’s about the value.
Written by: Andrew Leighton, Owner
I remember my first sales call in the automatic gate business. I was sitting in an office across the walkway from another salesman. He hands me a lead sheet and wants me to make a sales call. Very nervously, I pick up the phone and dial the number. I introduce myself, the company I worked for at the time, and we discussed what was needed for his gate project. Based on my training, I gave the guy a ball park price for what he asked for. On the other end of the phone I hear something to the effect of “ARE YOU CRAZY?!” “THERE’S NO WAY I’M PAYING THAT FOR A GATE MOTOR!”
Dumbfounded, we wrap up the phone call and part ways. I turn to the seasoned salesman beside me and tell him how the conversation went, scared that I completely screwed up, only to hear his response saying “That’s great! What a perfect first call.”
He proceeds to explain the difference between people who are solely price conscience versus people who understand what value means. So the lesson that I learned that day and something I take with me now to my potential client’s homes is the price is whatever the price is. I’ve gathered a wealth of knowledge and experience in this industry and apply that to each project. It’s important to focus on the value I can bring to each homeowners construction project and how that’s worth way more than any price tag out there.
Perspective can make or break the outcome of a project.
We are all different people with different points of view, tastes in appearances, expectations of outcome, and acceptance levels. One man’s garbage is another man’s gold – right? This certainly applies to my life on a daily basis in the automatic gate industry. It’s very important to determine your client’s tastes, expectations, and acceptance from the starting point of a project. At the end of day, the client is the one left with the gate at their house forever. I feel it is my company’s responsibility to make sure they are happy with the outcome when we are finished.