TECH AND SALES PRO SUBMISSIONS – “why do you charge more?”

I went on Facebook and asked our readers to submit their best responses for the objection, “Why do you charge more than your competition?”  RELATED:  How to overcome “You’re too expensive!”   There was only one rule to the submission: it has to be real!   If you submitted a close, then it has to be one that you’ve actually used in the field.

One of the great benefits of being a trainer, is that you get to know and learn from a lot of really smart people. This article is a highlight of sales skills from talented HVAC technicians, plumbers, electricians, and sales professionals.  RELATED: Sales Training

All of the submissions came through as a comment in Facebook. Under each person’s name, I’ll provide a link to their submission.   Some submissions may be slightly altered for grammar and clarity. 

Real life submissions from the field

Mike Roberts – The Thrill of Emotion Close

We charge more because we are worth more. It’s bigger than all of the value added services of shoe covers, inspections, pressure testing, showing water shutoffs, etc… It’s about understanding the big picture of the customer experience.

Customers pay for the experience. Why do we pay so much to go to Disneyland, when for a fraction of the price we can go to our local fair? Because, it’s magical. When you expect to give a memorable experience to every customer, price rarely creates a “no.”

People will forget what you do and say, but they will never ever forget how you made them feel. I can go on and on about “theme” customer experiences. This is why we do what we do every single day. It’s for the excitement of how we make someone feel.

Mike is the Service Manager of Plumbing Medics.  You can see his original Submission by CLICKING HERE.

Gary Woodruff – The Limited Apologies Close

I don’t know if our price is actually more than what the other guy would charge for the same service. Are you concerned about the quality of work and the guarantee behind your service? (Yes) That’s great, because we are too. See, we decided a long time ago that we would rather charge a fair price to do the job right the first time, and explain why the price might be more before hand, than have to apologize for a lack of quality after the fact, because we cut corners to offer a lower price. Does that sound fair to you? (Yes)

I would then go over all of the special care that we are going to take for their specific situation, and verify that these items were important to them.

Finally, I would go over our guarantees, how it fits their situation, and again verify that these benefits were important to them.

At any point if they assert that the other guy is good too, I’d ask if they have had similar guarantees offered, and if not, why the client thought that they might not offered those guarantees.

If they want us, but still can’t get by the price, I would look for an alternative solution with a lower investment, and explain the compromises that they would be making going that route, and any of our guarantees that might not apply.

Gary is the Service Manager of Hurley and David Home Services.  You can see his original Submission by CLICKING HERE.

Russ Arsenault – The Holiday Service Close

One of the reasons why I’m more expensive is because our team is available on holidays.

If it’s Fourth of July, and 90 degress, and your ac is down that we installed, where would you like me to be? On my way to your house, right?   And when you call on Christmas Eve because the heat’s out and you have guests, where would you like me to be, on the other end of the telephone? Yes, of course. We will be. Too many times we hear it was installed by someone else, and they were unable to get a hold of them. Not going to happen here. So, when I showed you that investment wheel, remember, a good portion goes to the awesome team I have to back up what we do after the install. We are looking for a long term relationship, not to do this cheap, and be unavailable after the install. Was that what you were looking for? When can we get you on the install list?

Russ is the Owner of Aire Serv.  You can see his original Submission by CLICKING HERE.

Mark Anthony Toto – The LEAP Method (Listen, Empathize, Ask, Prescribe)

I always listen to the customers’ concerns…from the start of the call to the finish. If I’ve done my job, 90% of the customers don’t have a price concern, but there are folks that do get hung up from time to time.

The following are a few of the things I share to explain pricing. Sometimes it’s a few of these…sometimes its all of them plus some! Lol…case by case basis I suppose… 😉

1) I empathize…I hate spending money too! BUT… I point out the NEED of heat, AC, hot water, etc. Nope, its not a new car, or a vacation, and most times you can’t show it off to friends. But, it’s there for you, to keep you warm at nigh,t or cool off those summer days. It will keep your house running, just like you want it to.

2) I reassure them about the choice they have made in repair, putting myself in their shoes, so to speak. I will NEVER recommend a repair that is not needed due to age, preventing a breakdown, or an upgrade to comfort. I refer back to the options that were given at this time, and I back up EACH option with a picture, and a presentation (show and tell…here’s what it does, here’s what happens when it’s broken). During a price concern, I bring them back to the presentation..
The options I gave them…

3) I make cross comparisons they understand. A steak at the butcher costs $10, but at the restaurant it’s $25…why? Because of the hard work it takes to get it to you, and make it right! I highlight how we train each tech a full month out of the year here, and talk about the cost of doing business the RIGHT way…permits, codes, certifications, etc… Done by techs who are properly trained…
You CANNOT get hired here easily, we take 1 person out of hundreds of applicants…literally. You have in front of you (humbly) the best TEAM and company that the industry can offer in the area, with a company that stands by it’s work.

4) I talk about the company, how we are customer driven, not price focused, (quality costs money, we have ALL had a bad experience with the cheap route…)We strive for excellence, and don’t cut corners in our work. We are professional, from our call center, to our dispatching, to the warehouse, to the techs, we are a team. A team focused on providing the best hvac service possible. Our owners have been doing this for 30 years, and are fantastic members of the community. They are born again Christians who give 10% tithe, support local charities, and travel to Africa to rebuild broken wells for the villagers in Malawi. They lead by example, and they challenge and push us all to be better people every day…..Out of all that, their goal being in business, after paying for the building, the trucks, the techs, the training, and our whole team, is to make 10% profit….thats it!

5) At the end of the day we compete on quality. So no, we are not the cheapest hvac company around, with what we offer to our customers we couldn’t be, but we WILL be the best.

Mark is a Service Tech at Heritage Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Electrical.  You can see his original Submission by CLICKING HERE.

Great job by all!

Even though I didn’t put every response in this article, I want to thank everyone that submitted. Your hard work and effort is very much appreciated.  I can not express enough to you the extreme gratitude I feel for all of you.  (Readers, Participators, and Clients.)

You are part of this critical community where we turn learning into earning!

Which close did you like best?  Let us know by sharing and commenting on Facebook and LinkedIn.