List Prices – what are your thoughts – are they old hat? Are discounts against list prices sometimes illusory or deceptive?

There’s a reason we’re asking these questions. On numerous occasions one of our new young salespeople, James, has been told that we’re too expensive to buy from. We only offered them a 57.5% discount, as opposed to another supplier who offers 62%.

We explained to James that in actual fact the discount is meaningless unless both suppliers have the same list price. Of course, they rarely do.

We definitely made the right choice with James. He got back on the phone and spoke to every customer who had told him that he was too expensive. He asked them if they would let him price a recent order they had placed with a competitor at our 57.5% discount against list price. Eventually he found a customer who agreed to give him a go.

James was sent a copy sales order from the customer with the cost prices and totals blanked out. It was a typical order for our industry – Nylon Shelving, 4 Tier, two bays of 1200 x 600 and two bays of 1500 x 600. He got his calculator out and went to work.

James’ pricing for our Firmashelf Nylon Catering Shelving made here in Knaresborough looked like this –

2 x 1200×600                      £80.33 per bay                   Total Cost £160.66

2 x 1500×600                      £90.95 per bay                   Total Cost £181.90

So in total our quote came to £342.56

Now James needs to be careful in believing everything he’s told but the feedback was – “Yours is cheaper by nearly £25.00”

So what’s the best deal, 57.5% off List or 62% off List? Well James has learnt that it depends on what the list price is. Needless to say he has received his second order off his ‘new customer’ this week.

Well done to James and his ‘new customer’ for having an open mind and trying something new, as it really was win-win for everyone!

Now here’s payback for being patient and reading through this case study, any order you place between now and the end of August 2016 for any of our Firmashelf 5000 catering shelving range will be discounted by 60% instead of 57.5% as long as you use the following code on your PO “WELL DONE JAMES”

At 60% discount, James’ recent sample quote would have been –

2 x 1200×600                      £75.60 per bay                   Total Cost £151.20

2 x 1500×600                      £85.60 per bay                   Total Cost £171.20

Total Cost £322.40                 

If you want a quote on any of our shelving using “WELL DONE JAMES” please call James (or any of his colleagues) on 01423 796 200

OR

If you want a copy of our latest shelving brochure so that you can work your net price out yourself, please click here.