How to Choose the Right Quality Level

A lot of people have different definitions of quality and value. One of the main reasons why you will get such different answers from people is that very few have ever given it any thought. Why would you? Quality is something good and value is something good for not too expensive. That may be fine when you’re shopping for casual clothes for the weekend, but it’s a dangerous way to go about two of the most important tools in the replacement part sales rep’s toolbox.

An exaggerated but reasonable example is that of a part, let’s say a shock absorber, that is so good that one has never failed. They’ve been on vehicles with the heaviest of loads, on and off-road, and one has never failed. That’s good quality, right? Yes, but not for the reason you think. It’s not good quality because of its durability. It’s good quality because of its consistency. Not many people will say that a Mcdonald's cheeseburger is the highest quality food you can buy. And I love Mcdonald's cheeseburgers. But it is high quality because any Mcdonald's you go to will be just as good. Across the country, all year long. Quality is consistent.

How about the value of this super shock absorber? They never fail! So unless the world goes completely crazy, this never-fail shock absorber will probably be extremely expensive. Let’s say a normal shock absorber costs around 150$ on average. But every few years they need to be replaced. Let’s say every 2 years they need to be replaced. Well, if a fleet only keeps trucks for 3 years, then if the no-fail shock absorbers cost 500$, reasonable if it never fails, then it’s not good value for the fleet. For another fleet that keeps their vehicles for 10 years then it’s absolutely worth it. For them, it's a great value because they can take advantage of it. Value is relative.

Considerations: time, type of work

The main considerations for a fleet buying a given quality of parts is time, how long they will keep the equipment for, the type of work they do, how heavy the loads and how difficult the terrain is. You almost always have a choice of quality to offer a customer and knowing the relative quality of a product, as well as the requirements of a customer, will help make more sales and avoid problems. Trying to save a customer money on brake shoes by offering 21K brakes rather than 23K but they carry heavy loads in areas with steep inclines and declines, hopefully, the purchaser will know better because that could be extremely dangerous. Yes, it would be less expensive, but only on the initial brake kit purchase and not on the sure to ensue accident.

It's hard to know how long a fleet is keeping their equipment because often they don’t know. Some, mostly large fleets, have a sort of schedule but even they will hold onto some older units. Sometimes it's because a driver is used to their truck and doesn’t want the upgrade. Maybe they’ve repaired it so much that they feel confident it will last much longer than others. Maybe they’ve had no issues and they think that their good fortune will continue. You also don’t want to be asking regularly if trucks are going up for sale (unless you are or you know a serious buyer). It is worthwhile to let them know you have access to respectable but lower-quality options should they ever need them. Ultimately you want to sell for more dollars, the main metric you will be judged on (even though it should be total sales and average profit margin), and always offering less expensive products to an existing customer who is happily buying from you is probably foolish.

Conclusion

Quality and the associated cost of a part is extremely important. Knowing which product or manufacturer is perceived as better or worse is important. When you are trying to build sales, you are ultimately trying to take sales away from someone else. It may well happen that you will sell a new product to a customer they never knew existed or couldn’t get. Odds are better that they operate already for some time and are regularly buying whatever they need from somewhere. If you want more of that business then you need to be a student of how products and brands are perceived.

Many brands are seen as worse than they are. Other brands are seen as way better than they are. A brand's advertising can be so strong that the consumer response defies all logic. But right or wrong you need to begin by understanding what customers believe. Only from there can you begin to make your case for a change and it's only by effecting change that you can increase your sales.