The reality show’s third season kicked off Monday, following its second seasons where, according to the New York Times New Service, it became the History channel’s highest-rated series ever, averaging four million viewers an episode.
Aside from being a fun and endearing show that tricks viewers into learning their history, "Pawn Stars" also offers many great lessons in salesmanship, negotiation and getting what you want. Read on if you’re a freelance designer who could stand to win more business and get more out of the clients you have.
While son and co-owner Rick Harrison isn’t the only person in the family business who buys, trades and pawns pieces, it’s his style of buying that I want to focus on here. With nearly three decades of experience in the business, he knows a trick or two.
Want to be on Pawn Stars?. (2010). The History Channel website. Retrieved 8:33, June 8, 2010, from http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars/articles/want-to-be-on-pawn-stars.[/img]
1. Have them name their price first
There are few things more aggravating for a service provider than to go to a lot of trouble with meetings, presentations and proposals, only to find out the prospect’s budget is only a fraction of what the project will require. The end result: a giant time suck for you. For Rick and co, their buy cycle is much shorter than our sales cycle. But their volume is much, much higher. They understand the need to cut to the chase as quickly as possible and either make a deal or move on.
By having the seller name their price first, they know where they stand. There’s another great reason to get the seller to tell you what they want first. You don’t want to throw out a number that is higher than they’re expecting. Let’s say a man walks in with a late 19th century chest. Rick [BLOCKED] and thinks to himself, “I think I can get $700 for this.” So he’s prepared to offer the seller $400. But instead of saying, “I’ll give you $400,” he asks the man what he wants. The man will be happy with $300. So he either buys it for $300 or negotiates down. He doesn’t pay $400.
The application for your design business is the same. Try to begin by asking them to state their budget. If they have more to spend than it will take you to complete the project, look for ways to upsell and provide even greater services for the money. But for goodness’ sake, put as much of that budget to good use as you can. This takes us to our second lesson from Pawn Stars.
2. Give yourself some “wiggle room”
In this economy the temptation is to provide very lean quotes. This means less money for you. It also means when the project demands more time than you expected, you begin to lose out and make less of a profit than you expected. When someone brings in a piece, no matter how badly Rick wants it, he never begins negotiation with his top price. For pieces he can’t estimate himself, he brings in an expert who explains to Rick and the seller what the item is worth.
Let’s use a Civil War rifle in fair condition as an example. It’s worth $3,500 in excellent condition. The shop has [BLOCKED] $500 worth of restoration work done before they can try to sell the rifle for $3,500. Taking what we’ve established in lesson number one, Rick asks the seller what she wants. The seller wants the full $3,500. That’s out of the question. He asks her what she really wants, or he throws back a number like $1,200. He knows that, if he needs to, he spend $2,000 and still make the profit he wants, even with the restoration work needed. But he won’t give her his top price. He’ll either let her [BLOCKED] or give in sooner.
You should do the same thing. Building wiggle room into your proposals is essential for many clients. You'll know how important it is for you based on the number of prospects who come back and negotiate you down. If you’re working with startups and small business in particular, they often want to haggle on price. If you give them a cost that’s barebones to begin with, you’ll have nowhere to go. Come back soon for the next lessons in negotiations from “Pawn Stars.”
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About the Author
Becky Sheetz-Runkle is a marketing strategist and copywriter, and an advocate for measurable marketing. She’s based in the Washington, D.C. metro area and can be reached at [BLOCKED].
