Most homeowners have found themselves in a similar position at one time or another in their lives. I would wager that very few found it to be enjoyable. Since few have the knowledge or skills to negotiate either quantities or qualities when making a blind purchase, they resort to the only common denominator that they understand – price. Typically, the customer doesn’t know a good price from a high price – they just want to make sure that they get the best price. In an effort to get this better price, they will counter offer with a lower figure. Let’s assume I quoted a customer $2112 complete for a new bathroom floor. They counter offer and say, “Write it up for $2000, and you’ve got a sale.” While the temptation is sometimes strong to accept this offer to write the business, this is the worst thing you can do. I suggest handling this by saying, “If I were to accept that offer, I would be admitting to trying to overcharge you. Cheating customers is not something we do at Tom’s Flooring. However, if $2000 is the targeted amount that you were hoping to spend for this floor, perhaps there may be a way to get nearer to that figure.” At this point, I would suggest options that the customer could take to reduce the price. For example, do the tearup, move the furniture, pay in advance, etc. The only absolute to remember is that the customer must be willing to change the specifications of the quote if only slightly, to legitimize moving your price.
Many times, at this point the customer will simply say to proceed with the original quote. You may hear something to the effect of “well I had to try”. If they are willing to make some changes to the original specifications, always come back with a number close to, but not the same as, their original offer. Using my example, you should quote slightly less or slightly more than $2000. The exact number is not important since $2000 was not a meaningful number in the first place. Remember that the customer doesn’t know a good price from a bad price – they just want the best price. They now feel that they have it. On the other hand, if you had accepted the customer’s original offer, nothing positive would have happened. You would have given up integrity as well as nearly six percent of margin – more than the average flooring store makes in net profit. At the same time, the customer is not saying to themselves “, I just saved $112.00. Rather, they are likely saying, “That was too easy. I should have offered $1800.00. They now leave feeling that they drew the short straw even though they got their way. Try it. Like all new habits, this one will take a short while to establish. Once you do, you will find that both you and the customer will feel better for your having done so.
Premier Flooring Retailer TISE | 2025 41
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