"Why We Decline Business - Part Two"
In the first post of this two-part blog series, we began the discussion of why we decline business. We’re grabbing this sensitive subject by the horns to give more insight into what happens behind the scenes in the remodeling industry. It’s a touchy subject, as when we buy something we never expect to be rejected by the seller. However, there are instances where businesses need to filter potential customers to be successful. To help make our explanation more relatable, we’ll return to the example we setup in part one: a farmer selling oranges at a local farmer’s market.
I Want to go Through Your Presentation Process Even Though I Know I Won’t Use You
“I’m sorry, but I have a long line and don’t have time to explain the history of my oranges when you’ve already told me you think my price is too expensive. I need to sell these oranges so I can pay my bills and I might have a better chance with the person in line behind you.”
In this example, a customer has told the farmer upfront that her prices are too high. But, since they are in the market for oranges, they’d still like to learn more about how she makes her oranges. The client tells the farmer they will be shopping others and her professional insight will help them determine whether they are getting a good deal from someone else. If the farmer took the time to explain this, her line will get longer, and she may lose potential customers who are tired of waiting on her to finish talking with this client. If she continues to do this and gets to be known for having unreasonably long lines, she will eventually go out of business.
Likewise, we have advertise prices and often have clients who tell us upfront that we are too expensive for them. However, they still want to go through a few appointments with us so they can learn more about remodeling. While we are always helpful and willing to answer questions, we can’t fill our appointment schedule with people who have already told us they won’t be buying. Our priority is to remain in business, and we need to make sure our sales team is available to meet with people who are seriously considering using our services.
I Want You to Follow my Process Instead of Yours
“I’m sorry, but I only take cash and require my clients to fully inspect the orange for defects and sign off on this form before they purchase. I can’t take your credit card or let you buy it without inspecting it.”
In this scenario, the farmer decides what payment method she wants to accept. If she chooses to be a cash business, she can’t accept credit cards. She knows she will lose a large portion of people who don’t carry cash, but it’s her decision. If she does decide to start accepting credit cards, she might decide to put a surcharge or minimum purchase requirement for clients paying by card to help cover her credit card processing fees. She might also decide to have her clients inspect the oranges before buying them and sign off a form saying the oranges are acceptable as she might have a no return policy.
Likewise, we’ve setup payment requirements and a sales process that we feel works best for our business. Our sales process, in our opinion, protects us and our clients so all parties are very clear about the other’s expectations. We recognize this will cause us to lose a certain percentage of clients who would prefer to operate differently, and that’s okay. We’re not going to be a perfect fit for every single person.
In closing, we hope this mini blog series has helped ease the sting you may feel if any business decides to turn you down. If they have a clear, logical reason there is no need to take offense. If clients come to us ready to buy one of our packages online or wanting to purchase a design, we don’t care who they are, what their name is, where they came from, or where they live. We will only decline a client if they don’t want to buy what we sell, they want to buy what we sell but don’t agree with our pricing, they want to go through our process after already stating they won’t buy from us, or they want to buy from us but don’t want to go through our process.
If, however, on our first conversation the client is interested in what we sell, our basic pricing is generally within their budget, and they are totally onboard with our process; we’re always happy to give complimentary appointments before determining their final budget protection. If you’re interested in renovating your kitchen, bathroom or closet and want to see if we fit the mold of the contractor you’re hoping to work with, setup a 15-minute phone consultation with one of our design consultants. We’ll sell our “oranges” to anyone who’s ready to buy them! ;P
