Closet Price | How To Pick a Company to Organize Your Closets

Chapter 4 Closet Pricing and Sales Strategies

Pricing

There are different strategies to be sure. Some companies try to sell by proclaiming that they offer the lowest closet price. If this is their only reason for you to buy, is it in and of itself a good enough reason for you to award them your business? If such is the case, I think you may want to look at that again. Why is their price the lowest? Are they using inferior materials? Inexperienced installation crews? Is their price really the lowest? Some companies claim to have the lowest closet price and they don’t even come close! Hate to break this to you, but not everybody tells the truth all the time.

When I buy something of significance price is, and always should be, an important factor in my decision making process. Let’s face it, in today’s world it has to be! But it’s not the only criteria I consider. But since we are talking about prices, let’s stick to that. Prices can be misleading. Let’s say one price includes lots of drawers and accessories and another doesn’t. That will account for a significant closet price difference but the sales people don’t always share that info. It is incumbent upon the buyer to compare carefully and make sure they know what they are getting. What are the differences in the proposals? How thick is the board? ¾” or 5/8”? How deep are the panels and shelves in different sections? This is important because it impacts how thing store. 12” deep shelves are cheaper, but if you are folding bulky sweaters or fleece items and put them on 12” deep shelves there is a good chance they will hang out over the edge of the shelf and look really sloppy. Is the sales person telling you this or do you have to figure it out for yourself. How deep are the drawers? What material are they made from? What is the quality of the hardware? All these factors and many more impact closet price. Apples to apples people!

Do I want to do business with a company that is “giving it away”? Are they going to be able to stay in business if their pricing is too low? Don’t they have to make a profit to stay in business? If it seems too cheap it may be…or it may not be! Why do I say that? Because some companies price their initial offers so high that a fair and reasonable price may look to be too low by comparison and can scare off a consumer. I have seen this happen and I have seen customers pay too much for a lesser spec product because they thought the competition had a price that was too low. That’s why it’s important to compare and to know a bit about what you’re buying. In my experience, the higher closet price quotes that often come from “National” companies are inflated and may not really be a very good buy. This is not a “prejudice” on my part, but the result of over 20 years of experience in the business. National Franchise companies are obligated to pay franchise fees, advertising contribution fees and other costs that have to be passed on to the end user. That is one reason why the offerings from these companies are often higher for the same or even a lesser spec product.

The #1 Worst Pricing/Sales Strategy

This one slays me. Company A quotes a price of say $3,500. to a client for a job. The client replies, wow! That seems really high, company B says that they can do that exact same job for $2,200. Then the sales person for company A says, “well we can do it for that price as well”. That just drives me bonkers!!! If Company A can do it for that price, then why did they try to get an extra $1,300. out of the customer in the first place? I’ll tell you why…because they think they can! That’s right, some companies (some national companies too) have a sales strategy that involves “sizing up the customer”. They try to determine if the customer is capable of paying more and if they think that is the case, then they try to get more. Personally, I find this strategy to be both repugnant and immoral. And what blows my mind is why a customer who has experienced this approach would buy anything from company A! Sometimes its not a matter of “sizing up” the customer, but rather asking a very high closet price from every customer in the hopes that they may get the job because the customer is uneducated about the product and the process. It sort of speaks to the old Sy Sims theory, an educated consumer is my best customer. Well, be an educated consumer and don’t fall for such strategies.

One Last Repulsive Sales Strategy

Some sales people say awful things about their competition. Sometimes they might be true, but in my experience, more often than not, they are not true. But that’s not really the point. Any sales person who would say untrue or scurrilous things about his competitors is really saying more about himself and his company than he is about the competition. Don’t believe everything you hear and consider the source. For you Mozart fans out there (Amadeus) remember Salieri! If a sales person stoops to such tactics he or she is to be avoided.