Marketing and Advertising with Chris Newton: Are your quotes losing you business?

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Are your quotes losing you business?


You may have heard me say before: ‘tear up your quote forms!’

Now, that's a fairly provocative statement.  And for many businesses, doing quotes is the only way they get business.  Or that’s what they think.

There is a better way.  Not only that, it will earn better margins, win MORE business, and serve your customers better.  A different positioning in fact, that will leave your lower priced competitors scratching their heads as to how you're winning the business.



First, what does the word quote mean to your prospects?

It means: "Check my competitors. Shop against me. Find the best price."

Think about it.  If that's how you're positioning your business, solely focusing on price, then your business will forever be fighting an uphill battle.  Now more than ever, given the increasing influence of the Internet and the 'global village' market.

Let's re-think the way you position your 'quote'. 

Start by not seeing it as a quote.

See your quote as a job specification, an action plan, a specification sheet...  Call it what you will, but don't call it a quote.  Get that word out of your vocabulary, and the vocabulary of your team.



Second, where do you put the price on your quote now?

Right at the bottom, at the very end?

Hmmm, what does the prospect do when they receive the quote?  They go straight to the very bottom and take a look at the price before they read the details.

So how might you address that?

Think about putting it right up the top.  Thank them for the opportunity to work with you on this project, state that their investment will be x, and then take them through the value they'll receive - list out the benefits.  Like this:

"Based on our discussions and your specifications, your investment will be x dollars.  Let me spell out exactly what you will get for your investment..."

Guess what your prospect is focusing on now?  Suddenly you've turned the whole focus around.  They're focused on the value they'll be receiving.  And the price is out of the way.



And importantly, when you write your proposal, assume that you've got the job.

Now I don't mean you don't have to try.  Instead, have the mindset, the 'belief system' that your solution IS the right one.  And that your prospect would be crazy to go anywhere else.

And in truth, if you've done your fact finding and set up expectations correctly with the client, there's no reason you CAN'T be confident you've got the best price/value solution.



One final point...

Even in a struggling economy, buyers are more concerned with the value of what they're getting than the cost.  There's a bit of wisdom here:

The seller often has more problem with price than the buyer ever will.

Hard to accept but true.


Until next time,

Chris Newton

P.S. If you'd like more help on re-working your 'proposals' or 'job specifications', take a look at this article on our Results Corporation website:

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