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Why a 10% Discount is Negotiating Against Yourself

⏱️ 6:45 🎀 Tom Reber
AUDIO EPISODE
Why a 10% Discount is Negotiating Against Yourself
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Chapters

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  • 0:00
    The Cost of Discounting
    Tom Reber explains how discounting even 10% can wipe out a disproportionately larger percentage of gross profit.
  • 3:40
    Sales Leak Scorecard
    Tom promotes a 'Sales Leak Scorecard' tool to help contractors identify and fix weaknesses in their sales process.
  • 5:22
    Replacing Lost Profit
    Tom demonstrates that contractors need to sell significantly more work to replace the gross profit lost from a discount.
  • 7:44
    Lower Margins, Higher Costs
    Tom explains that contractors with lower profit margins suffer even more from discounting, requiring even greater additional sales to compensate.
  • 9:20
    Strategic vs. Fear-Based Discounting
    Tom differentiates between strategic reasons for discounting and fear-based price reductions, urging contractors to hold their price.

Speakers

T
Tom Reber
Host

Key Takeaways

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A 10% discount on a job can reduce your gross profit by 20% or more, not just 10%, because your costs remain fixed.

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Understand your true costs: suppliers, labor, insurance, and overhead don't decrease when you offer a discount, meaning the reduction comes directly from your profit.

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To recover lost profit from a discount, you'll need to sell an additional 2-3 times the discounted amount in new work, depending on your profit margins.

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Don't discount out of fear or discomfort when a client pushes back; know your numbers and communicate your value confidently.

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Use strategic discounting only for specific reasons like filling production gaps or rewarding loyal customers, not as a standard response to price inquiries.

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Price your jobs correctly from the start, articulate your value clearly, and protect your gross profit fiercely to ensure business health.

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Utilize tools like a 'sales leak scorecard' to identify and fix issues in your sales process before resorting to discounting to close deals.

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