What I’m Trying To Say Is…

People don’t always say what they mean. Even in business ventures that should be straightforward with no beating around the bush, individuals who are concerned about working with contractors and finding one they can trust will often disguise their concerns by asking questions.

“People don’t always tell you the truth,” says Jim Kasper, president, Interactive Resource Group, Aurora, Colo. “You have to smoke out the objection and find out what the customer is really concerned with. Some objections are very standard and can be handled the same way every time. What you need to do is determine the real question that the objection is asking.”

In his 90-minute workshop at the 2004 Landscape Industry Show in Long Beach, Calif., Kasper invited attendees to share some of the objections they hear on a regular basis and translated those comments into the questions customers are really asking. Here were some of the most popular:

OBJECTION: “I can do this cheaper and faster myself.”
TRANSLATION: “People who ask this question really want to know why you’re worth what you’re charging and why your time is somehow worth more than theirs,” Kasper says. “To overcome this, contractors have to explain the costs of the project in comparison to its benefits – show the customer what they’ll get out of the project when it’s finished and what you as a contractor can offer to validate the value. This concern needs to be extrapolated into more than just time – explain the safety issues, quality of materials and installation practices involved in how you came up with the price.”

OBJECTION: “Can we do this in stages?”
TRANSLATION: “This is a legitimate concern, and the customer is really asking how they’re going to afford the project,” Kasper explains. “They might really want to know what they can get for the money they have available or how they get achieve the proposed project with less money. In this case, you can use similar design practices with less expensive materials.”

OBJECTION: “We have two bids that are cheaper.”
TRANSLATION: “Again, this customer wants to know why your company is worth more than the other guys’ they’ve requested proposals from,” Kasper notes. “This is not always negative because they’re obviously not sold on the other contractors’ work, otherwise they would have finalized the deal already. What it means is that you have to work hard to differentiate yourself from your competition and maybe even compare the proposals spec by spec. Show the customer what you can offer for their money.”

The author is associate editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at lspiers@lawnandlandscape.com.