FlatRateNOW Blog

Do you offer discounts to improve your chance of selling jobs?

Written by Marcel Donnelly | Aug 11, 2020 3:56:17 AM

If so, there is another option available to you that can offer a higher chance of maximised sales AND customer satisfaction.

Many of your customers will take the standard approach to negotiating and ask ‘can you do better?’. Without thinking, you react and before you know it, you’ve thrown in a discount and you cross your fingers that your client accepts without any further questions.

You could circumnavigate this scenario with one simple solution - present a payment plan with your quotation. How could a payment plan be a positive alternative to discounting? Here are 2 points to consider:


  1. A payment plan may offer higher profits to the business if compared to a discount
  2. Discounting lowers the overall price of a quote. This may cause your customer to expect a lower value on future quotes.

 

We created a short 2 minute video that compares the impact a discount and a payment plan has on the same quote.

The below table is used as the example in the above video.

 

In the table below, the quote example is valued at $2,384.60. We will compare the impact a 15% discount has on a quote compared to a payment plan.

 

 

15% Discount

6 Month Payment Plan

     

Labour

$875

$875

Parts & Materials

$1,509.60

$1,509.60

Total Quote Price

$2,384.60

$2,384.60

Finance Fee (7.99%)

N/A

$190.53

Discount Cost

$357.69

N/A

Total Amount Invoiced

$2,026.91

$2,384.60

 

In this example, the difference between the impact of a 15% discount compared to a payment plan is $167.16!



If you put aside the financial aspect of the example, here are a few other reasons you should consider:

 

Both are easy to offer

  • It’s as easy to offer a payment plan with your quote as it is to offer a discount when negotiating however payment plans offer the added bonus of convenience!·

 

Create consistency in your pricing

  • Discounting as a reaction to a negotiation can lead to pricing inconsistencies and an expectation that you may resort to discounting in the future if pressured.
  • Payment Plans don’t reduce the price of the job, they in turn help bring consistency to your quotes prices - no matter which customer you quote.

 

Better for everyone involved

  • Payment plans offer your customers flexibility and reduces the burden of paying up-front for the job.
  • Businesses do not have to worry about chasing payment as once the job is completed payment is provided by the Financier, not the customer.

 

You offer payment methods like cash, cheques and credit cards every day, simply include payment plans in the mix to find out how much it can benefit your business. 

 

Get in contact with us today to understand more about our available integrations and features that can help you make better decisions when presenting your quotations!

 

 

DISCLAIMER:

The information provided in this article is general in nature only without consideration of your particular financial circumstances or needs. 

The example provided does not take into consideration any additional fees that may be added by a financing product. The Finance Fee of 7.99% is not a fixed figure and is subject to change depending on who you use to offer payment plans. 

Please ensure that you follow all regulator requirements when offering a payment plan.