How To Sell Quality?
When trying to sell a new product into a customer it often comes down to “who is cheaper”. Many sales people do not know how to deal with a customer that is a “price only” buyer.
One easy way to combat the “price only” buyer is to explain “case cost vs use cost”. Case cost is not a good representation of what it actually costs to use a cleaning product. Use cost is the most accurate measure of what it actually costs to use a cleaning product no matter the application. Use cost will determine how much product is being used, the cost per oz, and the frequency that the product is used. For example, let’s look at the cost to charge a 3 compartment sink with pot & pan detergent. We will have product A, which is much more expensive than product B that the customer is currently buying from your competitor.
Product Comparison
| 15 Gallon Sink |
Product A |
Product B |
| Use Dilution |
1 oz per 5 gal |
1 oz per 1 gal |
| Oz per pail |
640 oz |
640 oz |
| Oz of product per sink |
3 oz |
15 oz |
| Cost per 5 gal pail |
$80.00 |
$32.00 |
| Product cost per oz |
$0.125 |
$0.05 |
| Cost per sink |
$0.375 |
$0.75 |
As you can see the cost per sink for product A is ½ the cost of the sink with product B based on the quality of the products and the use dilution they suggest. To make it even easier, you can see that product A has a use dilution of 1 oz to 5 gallons of water, while product B has a use dilution of 1 oz to 1 gallon of water. So to make things equal product A would need to be 5 times the cost of product B (or $160.00) for the use cost to be the same.
The next time a customer tries to block you with case cost, try using use cost and help them understand the true cost of using a higher quality product vs the cheap alternative. And if you want to impress them even more, take the “cost per sink” for both products and multiply it be the number of times they fill the sink over the course of a year. They will be amazed at how much money will remain in their pocket.