Sales guide / Tools & resources

Quoting the wrong solution

Check that your proposal solves the problem the customer actually has. Match the scope to their needs before adding features, complexity, or cost.

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What's actually happening

You quote your best version, because it's your best work and you'd rather do it right than do it cheap. That instinct is correct roughly half the time and quietly fatal the other half.

What makes this one hard to see is that it doesn't feel like not listening. It feels like conviction. You know what would serve them best. You're advocating for it. And the more certain you are, the less room there is in the conversation for what they actually came in asking for.

What it costs you

The customer doesn't argue. They thank you for your time and stop replying, and you file it under "price." It wasn't price. It was that they asked for a bicycle and you quoted a motorcycle, twice, with enthusiasm.

What it looks like, a real one

A saleswoman came to the house to quote window blinds. I told her what I was after: something inexpensive, nothing fancy, just cover the windows.

She had a better idea, and she was determined. She walked me through the premium option. I said again what I wanted. She explained why the premium option was worth it. I said it a third time. Her quote came to several thousand dollars.

She wasn't lazy and she wasn't a bad salesperson; she worked hard on that visit. She just never once quoted the thing I asked for. She lost a sure sale by being sure.

Where I'd start

Quote what they asked for. Then, underneath it, offer the better version as a choice with a reason.

  • Option A: exactly what you asked for, at this price.
  • Option B: what I'd do in your position, why, and what it costs.

Now you've been heard and you've given your professional opinion. And when they pick B, which happens more than you'd think, they picked it. You didn't push it on them.

Not sure if this is the one costing you?

That's the usual situation, and it's worth twenty minutes. Most owners guess wrong about which of the seven is theirs; the loudest problem is almost never the expensive one.

Book 20 minutes

Twenty minutes, phone or video. What's happening, and what I'd look at first.