“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional,
wait until you hire an amateur”
The statement originates with a man named Red Adair, an American oil well firefighter who pioneered the highly specialized profession of extinguishing and capping oil well blowouts. Adair and his team are probably best known for extinguishing the oil well fires set by Saddam Hussein in Kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991.
Adair was obviously an expert in his field and set his price accordingly. He understood that his knowledge and experience had an inherent value that would actually save someone money if they would allow him to do the job right the first time.
The cost of doing it “wrong”
What’s interesting about this quote is the fact that many of us don’t take heed of its simple advice until it’s too late. Everyone wants a good deal and to feel like they kept themselves from being taken advantage of, but this approach can backfire if you’re not careful. Most people don’t value what they don’t understand, so they set their own “internal” price and find someone inexperienced to match it. Unfortunately, this can be a very costly decision.
If you’re going to wheel and deal on something make sure it doesn’t have the potential to ruin your company. Save that kind of bargain shopping mentality for bidding on eBay, or haggling at garage sales. I’ve seen some really smart people make some really bad mistakes in this area, thinking that they were saving themselves a few dollars. Don’t fall victim to this short-sighted thinking, find an expert you really trust, ask a lot of questions, and allow them to guide you in a direction that’s beneficial to your business.
Doing it right
A reputable company will compete on value, never on price. Likewise you should always maintain a healthy level of skepticism towards companies who offer you very low prices – what’s the hidden cost behind why they’re so cheap? You need to really dig into this – if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
This applies to the way you run your own business as well. While all businesses need to be price competitive to some extent, if price is your only competitive advantage you are in a race to the bottom and ultimately your business is doomed. There is always going to be someone willing to cut more corners than you; someone who is happy to take foolish shortcuts, throw safety out the window, use cheaper products regardless of long-term quality, and devalue their staff, neglect their industry, and abuse their customers all just to make a few pennies more in the short run at the cost of everything else.
We all need to ask ourselves, “do I really want my business to be known as the cheapest game in town?” Is that the best I can offer and innovate – to cut costs and cut corners until the value is gone?
No one worth doing business with prides themselves on such a model. Why? Because while company’s who cut corners or disregard the bigger picture almost inevitably end up costing their customers more in the long-run. Transacting with these sorts of organizations invariably leads to problems, headaches and a fine mess that you will then need to pay someone to clean up.
Consider this…
Far too many businesses look only at the direct cost (in every sense, not just dollars) without considering the bigger picture.
For example, in our industry (commercial construction and facility management), the troubles of hiring an ‘amateur’ or lowest cost service provider are well-documented. It would be tough to count how many business owners and store managers have leapt at the chance to go with the fastest/ cheapest contractor they can find, all in the name of saving a money up front. It would be just as tough to count how many of those have then paid dearly for it later when the work turns out to be a complete disaster and nothing is done right.
We have had hundreds of service calls and projects over the last decade which are the result of a facility manager needing to fix what was done by the lowest priced contractor they hired previously.
Low costs up front typically end up costing you a whole lot more.
“Ok, I want good work, but I also don’t want to waste money for no reason! What can I do?”
Look for a balance. While price isn’t the only determining factor in your project, it is a big deal. Try to find a contractor who can speak to the value they deliver and explain what they offer that sets them apart from the competition… and why that matters to you.
Curious about what sets Dogwood Ltd. apart? Call us, we’d love to talk about that.