In the appliance industry, it often feels like every customer who walks through the door is looking for a deal. Many are, and that impression shapes how many dealers and their sales teams approach every sale: lead with a discount, close fast, move on. Even affluent buyers aren’t immune to bargain hunting. Fewer affluent buyers negotiate over high-end products because they are looking for more expertise. Unfortunately, because appliance salespeople are so conditioned to respond to any objection by caving on price, they can even turn a premium and luxury purchase into something that appears to be a fire sale.
Today’s Buyer Thinks Differently
Customer psychology has changed. Before the rise of e-commerce and targeted advertising, relationships mattered more. Salespeople were part of the decision-making process. Today, the customer arrives already armed with research and expects speed, simplicity, and a good deal.
They’ve been trained by the digital world, and sellers like Amazon, to value convenience and instant gratification. As a result, most people don’t walk into your showroom hoping to build a relationship; they’re looking for the lowest price and the quickest solution.
Closing the Gap Starts with Discount Discipline
To shift the customer mindset, start by changing your own team’s habits. Specifically: stop over-discounting.
Discounting infects your business from the inside out. It drains your gross margins, weakens your brand positioning, and lets salespeople decide how much profit stays in your pocket as the owner. Protecting your margins begins with your sales team. Setting clear standards and eliminating unnecessary discounting are key facets in building a growth strategy that reinforces value instead of price.
Yes, this will take time. Changing the culture around pricing isn’t easy, and you may face resistance. But it’s your job to protect the company’s profits by setting new standards. If your team understands the value of your brand through simple brand language (statements that emphasize the strengths your customers love) and knows how to incorporate that value into the conversation, they’ll find themselves discounting less.
Talk About It Openly and Often
When you make a shift in pricing strategy, don’t do it behind closed doors. Sit down with your team. Walk through the impact discounting has on your profits, your team’s morale, and your brand’s reputation.
Ask the tough questions:
- How often are they giving discounts without being asked?
- How many deals are they closing just because of price?
- Are they letting customers walk out, or are they caving in?
- Are they giving different customers different deals?
- How does over-discounting affect the reputation of your company?
Closing every sale isn’t a win if it comes at the expense of your margin, and inconsistent pricing damages your reputation just as much as your bottom line.
The Shortcut to Eliminating Discounting
Wouldn’t it be great if every business problem had a true shortcut? Fortunately, discounting becomes a rare event when you increase your volume of affluent buyers. The Affluent Audience might walk in your door with online research in mind, but they have a much different set of motivations for choosing your company.
They want to know “why” one appliance creates a better cooking experience than another. Refrigeration is the busiest appliance in the home, which brings up many questions about capacity, food preservation, and additional premium features. They are looking for appliance experts who focus on discussions around lifestyle, and they also seek experts with insights into what’s possible in a kitchen remodel.
Before you take your next steps with your sales team to change discounting habits, bring in more affluent buyers who are not looking for discounts. Just like changing habits, increasing the volume of high-end consumers happens over time. Appliance dealers who have made intentional changes in what audience they pursue are seeing significant shifts in their volume of premium and luxury sales.
Once the sales team realizes that “discount” conversations have significantly decreased, they quickly build confidence in powerful selling habits based on your company’s value, rather than price. Within months, you can see a transformation of your bottom line and a more profit-focused sales floor.
Challenge Your Team to Compete Differently
Discounting shouldn’t be the first lever your team pulls, or the last one. And it absolutely should not be the only way your salespeople know how to close. If you challenge your team to focus on a value discussion, incorporate solid brand language into the conversation, and stop giving away profit to win deals, discounting will no longer define your net profits. And don’t forget your shortcut: increase your affluent buyer volume as the sales team follows these new selling expectations. Your business will begin a profit transformation, and you will never look back.