The hair business is rather competitive, so the easiest is to grant your client a discount, of 10 – 15 percent or even more! But did you know a discount never made somebody feel a winner? Neither your client and neither you.
Your client is willing to pay any price, as long as they think it is reasonable. But the difficulty is to know what price is the right price for the hair extensions, given the quality, the market and the buying history of your client. So when you offer your hair at a certain price and you grant a discount right away, your client will think the lower price is a more reasonable price.
Disadvantage
The big disadvantage when you reduce your price is after your decision, your clients will wonder if the previous price was not too high. When a big car company lowered the prices from one day to the other to stimulate the sales, it indeed benefited from higher sales, but also turned many clients into unhappy clients because they had bought their car for the higher prices just before the special offer was made. Because all of the sudden the price they paid was not reasonable anymore.
It happens
How many times does your client, who shows great interest in the hair you offer and has asked everything that is possible about the hair and maintenance, after you told her the price started to try to negotiate the price to a level that is fits more in her own price range? Now what did you do?
Side effect
Imagine you know you have some room to negotiate and you offer a 10% discount, your client might feel she is on the winning streak, but she might also start to realize you tried to sell her hair at a price that was too high before. So as of this time she will doubt about any price you offer, she will think you always overvalue the hair. And perhaps she feels after the 10 % discount your price still does not represent a reasonable price for the extensions.
She will try to get a lower price, until you explain to her a lower price is not possible. Now she has to accept you offer a reasonable price, otherwise she will have to leave your shop and will most probably never return, or only after she finds out after visiting 3 or other shops your price was indeed the best she can get.
So discounts are a no go area? Wrong!
Try not to offer a lower price, this will not only lower your margin, but it will, as mentioned before, also make your client doubt about your intentions.
Better to make a swap
Try to get something in return from your client, make both parties in the buying process to swap things. You agree to lower the price, but your client could allow you to use her photo and social media profile as free promotion, or she has to agree to have her new hair installed and styled in your salon or a salon you work with. Or anything that will make you benefit from a lower price and give the client not the feeling you tried to cheat on her with overvalued hair! What are your ideas to do a swap and to keep happy clients?
