Lee,<div><br></div><div>What I haven't seen mentioned yet, is the idea that when someone calls, if you want that appointment, engage them. You need to be able to direct the conversation. Most particularly, start asking about the piano, how long they've had it, where it came from, who plays, what kind of music, do all the keys work, how long since it was last serviced, upright or grand, humidity control, etc., etc., ad infinitum.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Sometimes these questions precede a price, sometimes right on the heels of, "a normal tuning costs, $x. Of course that presumes the instrument has been serviced regularly......." launch to questions. People seem to respond positively when you show a genuine interest in their pianos, regardless of your price.</div>
<div><br></div><div>FWIW.</div><div><br></div><div>William R. Monroe</div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 1:39 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tnrwim@aol.com">tnrwim@aol.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><font color="black" size="2" face="arial"><div class="im"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font><br>
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;color:black;font-size:10pt">
<blockquote style="border-left:blue 2px solid;padding-left:3px">
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt">I always try to be the highest in my area, and if I get a sense that the caller is price shopping I let them know right up front, “Just so you know, if you are just calling around for quotes, I’m probably the highest in the area. I’ve got 30 years experience and I’m very good at what I do.” I may even at that point, if it feels like they aren’t going to schedule, go ahead and recommend some of the cheaper tuners. </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt"> </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt">I still end up getting most of those calls, but I do lose some. You have to be willing to lose some if you are priced on the high end. </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt"> </span></font></div>
<div>
<div><b><font color="navy" size="5" face="Lucida Calligraphy"><span style="font-family:;font-size:20pt">Dean</span></font></b><b><font color="navy" size="5" face="CAC Leslie"><span style="font-family:;font-size:20pt"></span></font></b></div>
</div>
</blockquote></div>
</div><div>Dean.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Your plan works when you've been in business for 30 years, and you have a strong following. But when you're new to the business, or new to an area, like me, you need every angle to get someone to bite. Telling them you're the highest priced tuner, just because you're got 30 years of experience, doesn't always put food on the table. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Just my 2 cents worth</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Wim<br>
<br>
</div>
<div style="clear:both"></div>
<br>
<br>
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;color:black;font-size:10pt"><div class="im">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Dean May <<a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com" target="_blank">deanmay@pianorebuilders.com</a>><br>
To: pianotech <<a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech@ptg.org</a>><br></div><div><div></div><div class="h5">
Sent: Wed, Jul 27, 2011 5:55 am<br>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] New Business from telephone enquiries<br>
<br>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt">I always try to be the highest in my area, and if I get a sense that the caller is price shopping I let them know right up front, “Just so you know, if you are just calling around for quotes, I’m probably the highest in the area. I’ve got 30 years experience and I’m very good at what I do.” I may even at that point, if it feels like they aren’t going to schedule, go ahead and recommend some of the cheaper tuners. </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt"> </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt">I still end up getting most of those calls, but I do lose some. You have to be willing to lose some if you are priced on the high end. </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-size:10pt"> </span></font></div>
<div>
<div><b><font color="navy" size="5" face="Lucida Calligraphy"><span style="font-family:;font-size:20pt">Dean</span></font></b><b><font color="navy" size="5" face="CAC Leslie"><span style="font-family:;font-size:20pt"></span></font></b></div>
<div><font color="navy" size="2" face="AGaramond"><span style="font-family:AGaramond;color:navy;font-size:10pt">Dean W May <a href="tel:%28812%29%20235-5272" value="+18122355272" target="_blank">(812) 235-5272</a> voice and text</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></div>
<div><font color="navy" size="2" face="AGaramond"><span style="font-family:AGaramond;color:navy;font-size:10pt">PianoRebuilders.com (888) DEAN-MAY </span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"></span></font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="AGaramond"><span style="font-family:AGaramond;font-size:10pt"><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy">Terre Haute</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"> </span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy">IN</span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy"> </span></font><font color="navy"><span style="color:navy">47802 Give us a LIKE on Facebook! Go to PianoRebuilders.com</span></font></span></font></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align:center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%">
</span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold">From:</span></font></b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt"> <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org?" target="_blank">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] <b><span style="font-weight:bold">On Behalf Of </span></b>lee innocent<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, July 27, 2011 10:20 AM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech@ptg.org</a><br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> [pianotech] New Business from telephone enquiries</span></font></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt"> </span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Hello All,</span></font></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Wondering how most of you clinch appointments from telephone enquiries. This is not my forte! These calls tend to be very short once I tell them the price. How do you handle telephone enquiries? </span></font></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt"> </span></font></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div>
</font></blockquote></div><br>
</div>