posted
on Monday, July 31, 2023
in
The Lowdown
The Race To The Bottom
Every day, we are asked the question “what’s your best price?” We are always happy to oblige
by giving our best price, but in the age of value collapse, we think there are other questions that our
customers should be asking too. We understand how important pricing is when making a buying
decision, especially as record inflation continues to affect American families and their purchasing
decisions. At Proven Power, we believe it is our duty to steer our customers to the best equipment for
their application and budget. Here are a few, often overlooked questions you should be asking.
“Tell me about your service department.” Any dealership that isn’t proud to brag about their
Service Department is probably an establishment you should steer clear of. Even with John Deere
reliability, things break. They often break on the one day you have to mow your lawn before that
graduation party, anniversary, or family gathering kicks off. Downtime is frustrating. You can prevent
downtime by properly maintaining your equipment. If you don’t have the time or desire to service your
own equipment, having an excellent relationship with your dealer’s Service Department is critical. Your
equipment is going to be around for many years, having a dealership you can trust and partner with will
only add value to a particular brand. At Proven Power, we are proud to have certified EETC Master
Technicians on staff at both locations. We stand behind our work, and our team. Don’t even get us
started on how proud we are of our technicians and the job they do keeping our customers’ equipment
in tip-top shape!
“What does the maintenance schedule look like on this equipment?” Some of our competitors
may beat us on equipment pricing initially. One thing many people overlook, when deciding on a piece
of equipment, is how much is the equipment going to cost me over the course of a lifetime.
Maintenance and repair costs add up over time. Sure, the knock-off machine from eBay or Amazon may
be half the price (or less), but if it is constantly broken down and you have no support when it does fail,
how valuable was saving on its initial price? Think of your equipment as an investment that needs to be
protected.
“What’s the final price?” Any dealership worth its salt should easily be able to provide you clear
pricing, and “where the numbers come from.” Don’t be surprised if you see pricing online, on a dealer’s
website, that is nowhere near the same “out the door” price. It’s a common tactic to advertise a low
price with an asterisk (*) and then pile on additional fees, parts, delivery, etc. We don’t believe in the
“bait and switch” tactic. We do everything in our power to be crystal clear on our pricing and how we
arrived at that figure.
“Why should I buy this equipment from you?” Asking this question shouldn’t make your
salesperson squirm, but it often will. The answer you most likely will hear is, “because we’re better than
our competitors.” Great! You’re better than your competitors! What if your competitors aren’t all that
great? Now you are buying a piece of equipment from the “best” extremely average dealer in your area!
That doesn’t sound like much of a win to us. At Proven Power, our answer to this question is simple. You
should buy from Proven Power because of our history of making satisfied customers that return year
after year expecting the same or better level of quality and service. It’s that unique history and story
that’s crafted every aspect of our business. You can’t get that everywhere, and we’re proud of that.
Our origins were a converted milk house on our owner’s farm. A father and son’s dream, turned
into reality due to hard work, amazing people, blood, sweat and tears. We started off our business
adventure by working on any piece of equipment we could get our hands on, regardless of if we sold it.
We appreciated every customer, and still do to this day. We remember what it’s like to strike a deal with
a handshake, and as such our word is our bond. It’s this mentality that built our reputation of delivering
excellent customer service for over 27 years. We don’t always get it right, but when we make a mistake,
we own it. We speak the truth, even when it’s inconvenient. We are very much the David to our
competitors’ Goliath, and we like it that way. We don’t take things for granted because we can’t afford
to. Every customer is extremely significant to us. When you ask, “why should I buy from Proven Power,”
our story says it all.
These are only a few of the questions that are often overlooked when purchasing a new piece of
equipment or looking for a new equipment dealer. We know that you can buy equipment almost
anywhere these days, and that price is often a key factor. Just remember, the cheapest price may or
may not be the best value, especially if you take into effect the lifespan of machines these days. Your
equipment is an investment, and your dealer is a massive part of protecting that investment. Be sure
they earn your business ;)