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Originally Posted by Sliver
Something is not adding up here, CC. Why would people want to deal exclusively with you if there was not some sort of incentive? I would also think a good sales guy would reward that kind of loyalty, not charge face value on things.
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Simply put, I was very good on the retail side of things, especially around qualification, finding what their needs are matching them to their wants and making sure that they understood how the cycle works. To many sales people drop their pants, try to sell the item that they want to sell and end up with disatisfied customers. The best place to set traction in terms of long term relationship building is at the start of the sales cycle, not at the end. If you do a good job of providing personal value, and hitting the mark, you pretty much never have to discount unless you screw things up. And if you act in a professional manner you get good refereals and all you have to do is ask.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
I think in sales there is a time and a place for discounts. If you have a guy that is running all over town to get the best price, you may as well give him a good price or he's just going to keep moving and you and your business won't get anything.
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I've never believed in the fairness of discounting because you tend to punish the people or take advantage of the people that suck at negotiation, and I've stated that a lot. At my current level of sales, the price is the price is the price. At the retail level, I had the 30 day price matching policy which got me around the discounting effect. At the end of the day, when someone asked me for a discount, I always asked if they discount their services at their job. I also learned that sales people that have discounts as their first or second quiver in their sales arsenal aren't confident or don't believe in their sales ability or in their products price fairness. When I was doing higher end IT sales I would discount a bit on larger orders to regular clients as a tactic in what was a commoditized field. But since that point, I've never done it. I believe in the value versus dollar of what I'm selling and I can convey that. I also firmly believe in the value that I'm offering, and I deserve to get paid for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
You make up a deal on other customers, as most don't even ask for a discount, or if they do you can just tell them your margins are already tight on that item and they'll accept that. When you get a guy that likes to wheel and deal, let him so long as you keep it fair for you and the company you work for, too.
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I see your point, because everyone seems to think that there's a thousand points of profit in every thing that you sell. But usually at a retail level the differences in pricing is like 10 dollars, hardly worthwhile for you to drive around town spending several hours negotiating with. Plus the really good retail sales guys, know how to bounce away from time wasters to people who basically are eager and willing to buy your product at sticker value.