Your job as a professional pool contractor is to inform the customer that price is not the only factor to consider. A customer focused only on price must not have a good idea of the scope of work in pool construction. Building a pool is a major undertaking.
You have to distinguish yourself by proving your experience and expertise. Point out something on their property that could be affected by an improper excavation, explain the detail in a bond beam, the importance of existing elevations. If you are able to appear more knowledgeable than the other guy, you build credibility then price becomes less of an issue.
Not all customers are primarily focused on price. I suppose it depends on where you’re building pools. Here in Southwest Florida, we have some customers that are focused on price. But we also have a large population of retirees and professionals who tend to focus more on value. I’ve been in the pool business since the early 90s and I try not to sell on price because it’s a losing battle. There will always be a competing contractor with less overhead that will be more than willing to undersell you.
This is where your people skills come in to play. If you’re likable and you’re able to vividly depict the “dream pool” that your customers have in mind, they’ll buy based on the good relationship that you’ve established and the fact that your ideas resonate with them.
Ask yourself these questions:
Do my customers like and trust me?
Do they like and trust my staff?
Can I do a better job of understanding my customers’ concerns, frustrations, and pain points and address them with solutions I provide?
Am I making enough of an effort to give back to the community, to participate in local functions, and network in local groups?
The more you make great relationships with people, the less you’ll have to sell based on price.
I’ve found that the more I’m able to build a relationship with the customer based on a solid foundation of trust, the better chances I have of taking their focus on price. That’s not always easy with a new customer who simply wants a quote and nothing else.
But if a prospect is willing to allow me to come to their home to scope out their backyard and build trust, often times I am able develop a relationship and really help them visualize the pool of their dreams.
It also depends on where you live. Here in Southwest Florida, I’m fortunate enough to live in an area where there’s a significant amount of people who have expendable income that focus more on value and relationships rather than cost. Even so, it takes people skills, a bit of charm, and a knack for vividly depicting their “dream backyard” while providing solutions for their fears/concerns.
Whether a new business or a well established one, to distinguish oneself from the pack a contractor needs to have the experience and expertise that is claimed, caution prospects against wanna-be traps, have recent references and referrals and never neglect online activity that involves you (such as review or social sites). Most people don’t mind paying a little more when they know it’s worth it.
I start by informing the client of my professional trade designation. I have proven that I know what I am doing. If they still are only concerned with cost over quality i take them to a few of my pools and then I let them take me to their friends pools and when I’m done they understand the difference between quality and price.
When a customer is merely focused on price, we leave.
A customer like that is not focused on the VALUE and QUALITY, they are only concerned with the cost.
Common sense dictates that YOU DO NOT GET QUALITY FOR CHEAP - YOU GET CHEAP FOR CHEAP. The cheaper the job and tighter the budget, the more things that go wrong (due to being in a hurry, lack of supervision, inferior materials, etc.).
And when a contractor does not make a fair profit, there is no money left over to fix things that WILL GO WRONG, as they do on every job.
