I want to address something that came across my desk this morning. This message is from a “Marketing Expert” and he claims that this one question is the worst question you can ask. It is a message that I do not agree with at all, but I wanted to share this with you! The question that he claims is the worst question you can ask is:
“What's your budget for this project?”
People don't ask the question to confirm whether or not the person they're speaking to has a budget.
People ask this question so they know how much to charge. And do you know a secret?
Their “budget” is way lower than the value you should be providing. That's because asking about the budget for the project actually reverses the decision-making process. And the worst part?
You know darn well that no matter what they say their budget is, that's what your price will be. And your prospect knows it too.”
I have had many people come into my shop after they had shopped someplace else and already have a quote to find out if we can match it or come up with a lower price.
I always ask what their budget is and I have found that in most cases, the customer appreciates it because he knows that you are willing to work with him and are looking out for his interests. That is if this is true.
Before you start your conversation, you need to have your prices set firmly in place so that it makes it easier for you to be able to talk intelligently to your customer. If you do not have firm prices, you will not show that you have confidence in what you are doing. If you do not show that you have confidence in what you are doing, your prospective customer will not have confidence in you. This is extremely important and something that you want to remember.
If you come across to your customer with confidence, he will immediately know that he is dealing with a professional.
If you have to be within his budget, then you need to show him or her options that are in a lower price range if he is all about a lower budget. You do not charge him based on what he said he is willing to pay or what his budget is.
I always gave my customer three choices of quality in products. This way he had choices in what garment he could choose to meet his budget, but we did not skimp on our quality of embroidery. Regardless of what the garment quality was, our embroidery was always top quality.
Maybe he cannot afford embroidery and needs to stick with a digital print or screen printing if that will meet his needs. Many times, a person, especially if it is for a business, can lower his garment standards but he still wants his employees to look professional.
DO NOT ever ask your customer what his budget isso that you know what your limit is for charging him. That will make you look very unprofessional and lack confidence. This is a real NO, NO!
Know your costs; know what you need for a markup, and know your prices! Have then set in stone!