What do you say/do when someone says, “Your prices are too high?”

Dan Tran

Dan Tran

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Curious of how some of you may approach this question. I know what my services are worth in terms of value and quality. However, many just want a good deal which I get.

So today, I gave a quote and the person mentioned that he has found quotes for cheaper. He mentioned that he saw my prices online and wasn’t thrilled that my quote was higher than my starting prices.

I mean correct me if I’m in the wrong, but there is a reason why it’s called “starting prices”.

How I tried to reduce the price — I asked, “Based on what’s included in my price, what don’t you need done?”

He mentioned he didn’t need extras like leather conditioning and vinyl dressing with UV protection.

So I dropped my price based on omitting these things.

I was still $25 dollars over his highest quote. I know that some guys in my area charge extra for leather conditioning. So I don’t think I am far off.

How I look at it is $25 dollars is not only a money difference, but possible a difference in quality.

I mean, my google reviews are solid (sorry, I can go on and on).

What are your thoughts?


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$25 is absolutely nothing when people are looking for the best. Help them figure out why they're considering you in the first place: better reputation, better appearance, better quality, etc. You can close the deal if you really believe that you're worth that extra $25. Just believe it and help them understand that. They wouldn't still be considering you if price was all they are concerned about - they would already be going to the other guys
 
You get what you pay for in most cases. If your business is doing well then you have room to maneuver. If things are slow then you will have less price leverage. I agree that $25 is noise.

How good or bad shape is the paint in now?
 
Depends Dan, if your talking $25 in the $500.00 ^ or $25 in the $100 range and if you need the job or not.
 
Route246 said:
You get what you pay for in most cases. If your business is doing well then you have room to maneuver. If things are slow then you will have less price leverage. I agree that $25 is noise.

How good or bad shape is the paint in now?
Click to expand...

To be clear, it was for an interior.

It was super important to him to have his all weather floor mats cleaned up. They are currently in rough shape. We are talking caked on dirt like a “mile” deep.

If it was a Honda Accord, it would have been a bit cheaper. However, I was also taking into account the many small pockets and hidden compartments a car may have.

To them, a car is a car, but to us, it’s all different.


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Rsurfer said:
Depends Dan, if your talking $25 in the $500.00 ^ or $25 in the $100 range and if you need the job or not.
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I totally understand what you are saying.

His highest quote before me was for $175. I was ultimately asking for $200 at my best value.


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Thank you very much. Our pricing Reflects our quality of work. You are welcome to search around for someone else that may have a lower rate than ours. Have a great day. That’s how it should be said


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detailhustler said:
$25 is absolutely nothing when people are looking for the best. Help them figure out why they're considering you in the first place: better reputation, better appearance, better quality, etc. You can close the deal if you really believe that you're worth that extra $25. Just believe it and help them understand that. They wouldn't still be considering you if price was all they are concerned about - they would already be going to the other guys
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Sometimes people don’t care about cost vs. price.

This one most certainly said he didn’t care.

I’m pretty sure I’m not he right detailer for him anyway, but I’m always looking to see a matter in a different light to see how I can sell myself better.


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I would sell myself, my ability as a Detailer to correct and protect the customers vehicle without inflicting damage or to aggressive of an approach. Let him know I carry insurance and pay taxes because we are a professional organization. After that if he does not feel comfortable let him walk. When someone tell me the car wash does a great job for 75 bucks I say. If that is what your looking for I’d go to the car wash because the products I’ll use on your car cost more than that (assuming a coating)

Your competition does not lower your price, you do!
 
It’s all in how you present yourself. Don’t ever Second-guess your pricing because then they will feel like you are just overcharging them. Try going into Best Buy or home-deport and try and see how far you will get you We have detailing packages over $1,000. We charge $75hr just to remove pet hair if that’s too much then we just tell the customer I’m sorry we may not be the right detailers for you to meet your budget and keep it moving.


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Best thing to do is to move on. Most customers say either it's too high and move on or it looks worth it and book. The ones that come in to haggle are not the ones you want as customers.
 
^^^^ what he said ^^^^ - you know your self worth, you know your product, technique, and know your customers and what they expect. Don't lower yourself.

Two recent stories.

1.) I bought a house and the entire backyard was crushed rocks. I needed grass for the dogs, and a patio for outdoors stuff. I got a great guy, by referral, who does designs and he asked me my budget. He came in roughly $1500 over my budget, but clearly laid out the design, all the work that had to be done, and how they were going to be dedicated to my job for three days with a crew of 5. He came highly referred from several sources and he handles most homes in Scottsdale. My job would be on the "cheaper" side of the type of work he does.

I asked if we could come down in the price and he said "YES! We can eliminate this, this, this, this, cut back on that, eliminate those..." My wife and I realized at that point that if we wanted quality and we wanted it done right and get what we wanted, we would have to pay the difference. The project came out amazing!

Story two:
2.) Customer contacted me regarding a 10 year old SUV that transports the usual, kids/dogs/cats... It had 140K miles on her and probably been through a tunnel car wash twice in it's life. They wanted to get it detailed as they put a lot of money in repairs and planned on keeping the vehicle. I came out did my VIF, marked up everything I saw (inside and out) went over everything with them, and I prepared my quote. The reply was "WOW, that's expensive... I was expecting it to be more than 1/2 of that". I offered to go over our processes again and discuss what we do, but we never connected on the phone. I did the same thing as the landscaper, I started eliminating services and represented a 2nd quote (about $100 difference). Never heard back and that's ok.


And that is ok.... and that is ok... and that is ok. Every time I have one person cancel, or say I'm too much... The door opens three-fold.

Then my phone rang and it was a referral. The best kind of clients. With a 2016 Porsche 911 Carerra GTS (posted in show-n-shine). We quoted the vehicle and no questions were asked. Because he's seen my work on his buddy's Audi R8 V10, and he met with other detailers and did not trust them. Then my phone rang again, and it was my driver (who takes very good car of me when I have to travel). He scheduled with me next week for his livery SUV. Why, cause he loves my work. He actually came and watched me work on a Hemi Magnum SRT/8. My phone rang again... Another existing customer with a 911Turbo looking for his 6 month maintenance package. We're seeing him tomorrow....

Know your value, know your worth, believe in that. Some guys love to give services away.. Sadly that can lead to a false economy.
 
All I can say is that it is best to never become adversarial, never go negative and never disagree with your customer or prospective customer. Part of being a customer is to be listened to. Once you go negative you cannot take it back. You violate that trust and there is always that 'edge' that the customer will have. Anything goes wrong and they will always revert back to the negativity. Be humble but be firm.
 
Route246 said:
All I can say is that it is best to never become adversarial, never go negative and never disagree with your customer or prospective customer. Part of being a customer is to be listened to. Once you go negative you cannot take it back. You violate that trust and there is always that 'edge' that the customer will have. Anything goes wrong and they will always revert back to the negativity. Be humble but be firm.
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Indeed! 100% correct. You always want to hear them out. Go one step further and in your back-pocket have a business card of a "buddy." This was a trick I learned from a good friend (who I grew up with) and he's been in the auto service industry for over 25 years. He's actually been the service manager to one of the largest franchise dealerships in New England for over 20 years. He once said, always have a plan-b if you don't think you can help a customer. Have a "buddy."

Mike Phillips and I actually spoke about this when I was in Florida for the IDA and he said he wished he had referenced how to turn down work in his book I believe in the last 6 months he wrote an article called just that.

The buddy system is a friend, that you know who does good work, but just not at the level you do. He does fantastic work, but at a production level where profit and quantity is the real business model. Always keep his or her, card in your pocket and say, "look, I have a buddy who does exactly what you're looking to do..." Your buddy will appreciate it, the customer will love it because they're going to get exactly what they wanted.

My buddy was a guy who ran a production shop, and everything was one fixed low price (under $300). He had contracts for Funeral homes vehicles, limo / air-port shuttle services... He's busy year round and gets them in and gets them out in under 4 hours. He had his son and about 5 of his sons buddies working for him. He loved the referrals I sent his way. It's a win/win for your customer.

And nothing wrong with my buddy and his business. That is his business model, not mine. It's ok to have different business models! :)
 
LSNAutoDetailing said:
Indeed! 100% correct. You always want to hear them out. Go one step further and in your back-pocket have a business card of a "buddy." This was a trick I learned from a good friend (who I grew up with) and he's been in the auto service industry for over 25 years. He's actually been the service manager to one of the largest franchise dealerships in New England for over 20 years. He once said, always have a plan-b if you don't think you can help a customer. Have a "buddy."

Mike Phillips and I actually spoke about this when I was in Florida for the IDA and he said he wished he had referenced how to turn down work in his book I believe in the last 6 months he wrote an article called just that.

The buddy system is a friend, that you know who does good work, but just not at the level you do. He does fantastic work, but at a production level where profit and quantity is the real business model. Always keep his or her, card in your pocket and say, "look, I have a buddy who does exactly what you're looking to do..." Your buddy will appreciate it, the customer will love it because they're going to get exactly what they wanted.

My buddy was a guy who ran a production shop, and everything was one fixed low price (under $300). He had contracts for Funeral homes vehicles, limo / air-port shuttle services... He's busy year round and gets them in and gets them out in under 4 hours. He had his son and about 5 of his sons buddies working for him. He loved the referrals I sent his way. It's a win/win for your customer.

And nothing wrong with my buddy and his business. That is his business model, not mine. It's ok to have different business models! :)
Click to expand...

Very, very great posts in this thread Paul.

What jumped to mind reading this thread was that a lot of people may be hungry, but most are Wendy's or KFC hungry. Not a top-flight steak house hungry.
 
You can be earning money instead of trying to convince this guy why your pricing is justified. If he is happy with sub standard detailing at a lower price, he would never appriciate your work. If he is unhappy with cheaper work, he will call you in the future.
 
I had someone call me on a service. Apparently I was the only one willing to travel to provide the service, but was $50.00 over his budget.

My issue was the tone. It seemed he was just trying to get his price no matter what. He told me that everyone else in his area was cheaper.

I told him that the most important thing for me, was that he found the best service for the price he was willing to pay. If that isn't me, I completely understand.
 
kswood said:
You can be earning money instead of trying to convince this guy why your pricing is justified. If he is happy with sub standard detailing at a lower price, he would never appriciate your work. If he is unhappy with cheaper work, he will call you in the future.
Click to expand...

Honestly, time is money. I NORMALLY walk away.

Funny, even if he calls me later on. I think I will pass. Lol.


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LSNAutoDetailing said:
Indeed! 100% correct. You always want to hear them out. Go one step further and in your back-pocket have a business card of a "buddy." This was a trick I learned from a good friend (who I grew up with) and he's been in the auto service industry for over 25 years. He's actually been the service manager to one of the largest franchise dealerships in New England for over 20 years. He once said, always have a plan-b if you don't think you can help a customer. Have a "buddy."

Mike Phillips and I actually spoke about this when I was in Florida for the IDA and he said he wished he had referenced how to turn down work in his book I believe in the last 6 months he wrote an article called just that.

The buddy system is a friend, that you know who does good work, but just not at the level you do. He does fantastic work, but at a production level where profit and quantity is the real business model. Always keep his or her, card in your pocket and say, "look, I have a buddy who does exactly what you're looking to do..." Your buddy will appreciate it, the customer will love it because they're going to get exactly what they wanted.

My buddy was a guy who ran a production shop, and everything was one fixed low price (under $300). He had contracts for Funeral homes vehicles, limo / air-port shuttle services... He's busy year round and gets them in and gets them out in under 4 hours. He had his son and about 5 of his sons buddies working for him. He loved the referrals I sent his way. It's a win/win for your customer.

And nothing wrong with my buddy and his business. That is his business model, not mine. It's ok to have different business models! :)
Click to expand...

That's a really great post.
 
Dan Tran said:
Honestly, time is money. I NORMALLY walk away.

Funny, even if he calls me later on. I think I will pass. Lol.


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Click to expand...

Hey, some customers you just don't mesh with. Nothing wrong with that. If you can't see eye to eye before you even start the job, well that's a tough place to start from and it's unlikely to get much better.
 
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