Diana Herashchenko / Shutterstock.com compiled by Danielle Renda My Client Is Price Shopping. Are They Worth My Time? To avoid paying a deposit on a fairly sized order, a long-term client of mine began shopping for comparable products on their own, which would lower the cost of the order by thousands. Should I meet them in the middle or move on? QA Distributor Asks: I recently told a client of 10 years that we needed to hurry along or risk losing stock on an order. The client wanted the order to be delivered in a month, so a deposit was required. To avoid paying the deposit, the client went to a retail chain that sells office supply products and found cheaper prices on half of the items quoted, which would bring the order from $25,000 to under $9,000. I want to express my disappointment on this outcome, considering the time and amount (we’ve spent hundreds in samples for this client) we have dedicated to this project. How would you move forward on this? I question if it’s “apples to apples” as we know that something can look similar but be very different. For instance, tumblers can be single-wall and snap-on lid with a straw and you may have quoted a doublewall screw-on lid. Maybe go back and see if you quoted products that could have a cheaper counterpart. I would tell them not to assume it’s the same. This logic has saved orders while the client receives what they wanted or have seen. ADRIENNE BARKER, MAS Supplier Representative Le Tour de Spice Daytona, Florida Any time you find yourself willing to be held hostage by a client over inventory or price, you are already losing. Price wars are a race to the bottom, and unless you draw the line, you’ll end up without profit and without the customer anyway. ART REMSIK B2B Marketing Consultant Arts Ads Peoria, Illinois PPAI 103148, D12 I definitely would not lower my price. It’s very likely they will not get the level of service and the discounters generally seem to screw stuff up in orders at a high rate. You should never be in a position where a company dictates how you run your business. Did you provide a fair and honest price from the start? Are you willing to lower your standards, ethics and integrity? Because it sounds like that is what the customer is wanting you to do. It’s painful, but if they are heavily shopping you at this point, it sounds like this will be a repetitive situation. CHRIS POLLAN President and owner Pollan Promos Starkville, Mississippi PPAI 276409, D2 You need to do what’s right for your business. When someone shows you how they want to work (by shopping items you sourced) is that really your target customer? Only you can answer that. Other things to consider: • Is the long-term value of this customer worth it? • Do I want to set a precedent that I’ll be forced to deal with going forward? • Is the revenue from this one order make-it-or-break-it for my biz? VICKIE MACFADDEN Owner PROMOrx Greenville, South Carolina PPAI 396628, D3 12 | JULY 2022 | INNOVATE
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