If you work in a piano shop, here are a few tips on how to handle customers that want to buy pianos.
You walk into a piano shop and ask the question: “How much are your pianos?” Its a broad question, but nevertheless it needs answering.
“Well what sort of piano are you looking for?” asks the sales assistant. “Something that is good quality” you say.
“Our piano shop only offers good quality pianos, but are you looking for a new piano, a second hand piano or a digital piano? “I want something that sounds good” you reply.
Why is it that the piano shop’s sales assistant always assumes that the customer knows exactly what they want and they think that the customer understands what an upright or acoustic or digital/electric piano is? What the customer wants, is to be able to walk through a piano shop, view the prices, colours and styles. They want to ask as many questions as possible to either confirm what they have already read or to find out information that will assist in their purchasing decision.
This article will explain how a piano shop should look after it’s customers…
Graham Howard – Author and Piano Advisor.
Email for piano advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
or Call freephone 0800 358 8880
“Good morning sir/madam. Have you been here before?”
“No, actually this is my first visit to London. I am here for the weekend visiting my sister. I found you on the internet and decided that I would pop in today and have a look at some pianos.”
“Oh, where are you from?”
“I from South Wales actually, from Cardiff”
“You have come a long way. Who is the piano for?”
“Actually it is for my 11 year old son and 9 year old daughter”
“Have they been playing long?”
“Since they were 6 years old”
“What grade are they both on?”
“My son is taking grade 4 and my daughter grade 3”
“That is quite a high standard for that age. What piano do you have at the moment?”
“We have an old piano that is on its last legs. Our teacher told us that we need to start looking for a better one.”
“It sounds like you need a decent piano. What is your budget?”
“Well, I don’t really want to spend more than about £1,000.”
“£1000 will probably only get you a very old piano again. You really need to be looking at pianos that start from £2,500. Let me show you what we have available.”
“Here are pianos for around £1,000. As you see, they are quite old. We normally only offer these to beginners on a rental only basis, just to get them started. For the level of playing your children have reached, they really are not suitable.”
“In this area we have new pianos ranging from £1,899 to £2,299. They are made in China, are reasonable quality and will be ok up to about grade 6. The sound is quite bright and the keys are on the heavy side. I think that you need to look at something a little bit better”…
“The pianos in this area range from £2,500 to £4,000. I recommend that you make your choice from one of these. All the pianos here will take your children up to grade 8. They are good quality, have a nice sound and the keys are not too heavy”
“I like this one” says the customer pointing.
“That is very good choice. This piano is made in the Czech Republic, has German hammers, good quality parts and has a solid construction. It also has a warm, European sound and the keys feel nice. As you can see, this piano is £3,000. Is this the one you want to buy?”
“Well, it is very nice, but its way above what I had in mind to pay. Would you offer a discount?”
“Our prices are very competitive and they have already been reduced right down. Would you be purchasing today?”
“If you can offer a good discount on this piano then yes, I will buy today”
“OK. Give me a minute please and I will see what I can work out for you.”
—2 minutes later—
“I have looked at the figures and if you can leave a deposit right now then I can knock the price down to £2,850. Have we got a deal?”
“I was rather hoping for £2,700. If you can do this then we have a deal.”
“The best I can offer you is this free adjustable piano stool that normally sells for £150.”
“OK. Let’s go for it!”
The deal is done. The customer leaves the piano shop with a good piano, a good deal and reassurance that they have made the right decision.
The shop sold a piano for more than two and a half times what the customer wanted to initially spend and had the satisfaction of guiding the customer to their perfect piano.
If you need some advice or information, please send me an email. I am happy to guide you towards the right piano for your needs: henrygenry@hotmail.com
Author
Henry Genry
Please note: This article is copyright and protected. You may publish this article on your website providing you leave the article “as is” and retain the author’s biography box. All contents Copyright © 2008-2020. All rights reserved. Graham Howard, author of The Digital Piano Bible (a buyer’s guide) and The Howard Score (piano rating system).
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