The phone rang. It was a kind voice on the other end, asking about a copier. She was from a church in a neighboring town. “I wanted to know if I could get a price on a copier?”
I replied, “Sure, tell me a little bit about what you are looking for in a machine?”
She answered, “We do bulletins every week for about 250 people. We do Sunday school lessons, coloring sheets for the kids, and that’s about it.”
I then asked what you are using now. The model she shared was a pretty expensive older machine. I asked, “Have you had that long?”
Her reply was the answer I needed, “We’ve only had it a little while. It had worked fine, but now it’s making terrible copies. We can’t find anyone to work on it.”
My questions continued, “I see, so where did you find the machine.”
Now, is when I was able to get more information. “I bought it at an auction.”
So now, I was more informed, and I knew that they had not paid the original $10,000 price that machine would have required to purchase new. I had asked what they were doing, how they were using their machine, and what type of equipment they were comfortable using.
I was free then to move forward with putting together a quote. There are many options with all ranges of pricing. It has to meet their printing needs and performance expectations with things like speed and features.
If I had only gone with something based on current equipment, it would have been way out of her price range. But, by asking questions and clarifying, I was able to move into price with a point of reference and all expectations being met for both her and for me.
Just giving a price won’t always be the way to deliver a proposal or get a sell. But, asking the right questions, providing solutions, and then the price for the answer to their wants and needs is the best way to deliver the price. This approach to providing the price will often lead to a sale.
