Charlotte Sales Manager, Josh Dernosek’s “Aha” Moment About Value
I am building a deck on my house. Sure it is a large project but for me, I wanted to take on the challenge of being able to do something to benefit my family. Because of this project I have had to purchase a few specialized tools. Of course, as anything else with me, I had a few “aha” moments.
Now picture this scenario…
To hang the ledger board to the house I needed to purchase a hammer drill; one that could take on the task of drilling through brick and mortar to create the holes big enough for the anchors that hold the board. (bear with me, a point is coming) As I was shopping I saw five or six different brands, all at varying price points, that all sold the same features and benefits. Naturally, I chose the least expensive of the options. I got home and started on the holes. Low and behold, what do you think happened next? With about 1/3 of holes done the chuck on the drill refused to hold the bit anymore.
So back to the store I go…
Once I explained the situation to the department manager, he quickly asked “well how many holes did you drill?” Upon hearing my response of “ten,” he said, “well, that is your problem, that drill is not meant for that extreme usage, you need to go with this one [holds other, more expensive, drill up].”
Maybe the example is similar to one you have experienced; a cheap purchase gone awry. I bring it up because I had a realization in that moment that you do, indeed, get what you pay for. That idiom goes for just about everything, and for me I saw the value in the more expensive drill. (I also saw value in asking the professional the first time instead of just reading the box).
The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines VALUE as the amount of money that something is worth: the price or cost of something. While there is no arguing the definition of something, I would argue that value is more than the worth of an item or service provided; value is intangible and has to be experienced. Value can’t be equated to a price tag or a dollar amount because we all hold different value levels to items we hold in higher esteem. As Warren Buffett says, “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.”
Dan Hooks, President/CEO, says it best in the quote we had him offer for our new Homepage. “At Party Reflections, we know you can rent equipment like ours for less money other places, but we also know you will not find the quality or the service we provide to make your event memorable. You only get one opportunity to make the right vendor selection for your event; so remember the bitterness of poor quality outlasts the sweetness of a lower price. We ask you to choose wisely.”
To say it another way, the value in using our company over another is relative to how our service and quality is based on the price you are willing to pay.
Value = perceived benefits received
perceived price paid
We believe that every client is a partner of ours, and we invest talent and resources into making sure that each event is produced in the most professional and timely fashion possible. Sure other companies can sell those same features and benefits, but you have to know what you are getting inside the box. That first drill wasn’t built for the pressure I enforced upon it, luckily I was able to return/revise my decision, but had I enlisted the professional on the front end I would have realized that I needed to spend a little more to get the job done correctly, the first time.