We'd like to hire you to put in an outdoor audio system. Our friend recommended you.

No problem. This is how much I charge for design etc etc.

Sounds great. We want speakers all over the yard, two zones, Sonos etc etc.

This is how much it is.

What? That's so expensive. How much for one speaker hooked up to an old receiver?

What do people think this stuff costs? No loss to me as this is precisely why I charge to design but seriously. I shake my head sometimes.

End rant.

"Well, can't you just....?"

Raised on crappy audio, searching for something that will allow them to relive the experience. It was such a memorable time for them........

I sold a $479 head unit to someone who didn't want the $599 model for the 48 foot Cruisers yacht he & his wife own as partners with another couple. I haven't looked, but I seriously doubt it's worth less than $260K and $120 mattered.

That's awesome. People put different values on different items for sure. I bet the system I designed for them cost less than the counter tops in their kitchen.

And then you have the other end of the spectrum...

Where teens would buy a $400 car and slap $2,500 worth of rims and then spend $75 on each tire.

KOT

They don’t know what it should cost until they ask. Just like they have no idea how much a new HVAC system is going to cost. Or a swimming pool.

At least you are smart enough to have figured out how to screen them out early. Most guys still spend hours of time meeting them at their house, making a “bid”, and then never hearing from the prospect again because they sticker-shocked them.

It's not their fault.  People simply have no idea.  The industry has done a piss poor job of educating customers.

I have no idea how much a Rolls Royce costs either....I think I have an idea, but I could easily be off by $100k or more based on my needs.

The problem is, I can check Google for the pricing on a Rolls Royce, your potential customer has nowhere to find any information, because they don't know all of the widgets involved.

If they see a door at home depot, most people can assign a number based on it's price as to how much it would cost to install.   Your customers have no way to do that.

When you get a price objection, take it as an opportunity to educate them.

I understand that and you make a good point about how little info is available and educating them.

Just did a consult. House is north of 4 mill. They have an AV budget of $5000 for pre-wire, music throughout, network, and control. Pre-wire will be more than 5k. Not sure where people get their prices on this stuff other than walmart.

I watched a This Old House episode in the late-'80s and they went through the Baldwin lock factory, showed how they make and seal their lock sets. I went past a place that sells high-end hardware, so I stopped in. Since they didn't discuss price on the show, I was a bit surprised to find that the nice brass single piece lock sets with dead bolt started at about $750.

I. Did. Not. Know. That.

Go ahead and daisy-chain the speaker and network cables. Give them what they want to pay for.

I'm to blame on this too, but I would bet None of the active people/posters on here have pricing listed on their websites. Pricing would only be found on the DIY / DIFY providers.

I'm just playing devils advocate here, but why no prices? Even a general " our new construction projects typically cost 50k and up", 100k and up, whatever. At least that would be a guideline. The only customers that know what "this stuff" costs, are people that have had good systems in the past.

Figure out what your typical install is on a 3000 sf house and start with that. "You have 3200 sq feet, the last similar job ran $6.25 a foot" or whatever, give them an idea. From there you can see if they are costco people or serious people.

Im done wasting time with people. I know pretty quick if i will even quote it. Its not about my bottom line, its about do I want THIS person as a customer or not, regardless of the revenue. Its a CHOICE. You do or you dont. If you do, are they qualified to be your customer? Thats for you to figure out. And quickly before you waste to much time.

80% have NO idea how much things costs. Its not particularly their fault. Educate them. unfortunately that task has fallen on us.

In my experience, the stuff we do costs at least 3x what most people expect (unless they've done it before).

There is a good online tool for budgeting that the Home Technology Association put together.  I've run a few scenarios through the calculator and it's fairly accurate (if not a little on the high side).

I haven't been in a situation where I've needed to, but plan to forward this link to future potential tire-kickers to help qualify them.

[Link: htacertified.org]

You know I love to talk about websites....Showing pricing on a site is a bit of a problem indeed.

1. Prices are always changing. Which would mean paying a designer to constantly update...so for some, that's a no go.

2. Then I think most guys think (and rightfully so). "If I have a chance to explain to the folks what's involved in the installation, if they have the money they'll more than likely spend it."

3. If they're a new "shopper" and land on your site and they see .."these systems cost 50-100k, it may shock their system even if they have the money...then they visit 3 other sites and realize..."Oh, this is what these systems actually cost".  They settle in and are willing to spend the money...but now they've left your site and can't remember your crazy ass url.  So they hire someone else.

I've talked about this scenario and/or package scenarios with many clients for their sites...when you really start trying to put it together, it's really f'ing difficult.

The approach I've taken is this...when I'm designing a site I try to use images that reflect what their ideal customers home would look like.  Then if a guy who should probably be chatting with the geek squad about speaker selectors visits the site, he sees the type of homes and immediately thinks.."out of my league" clicks away and we've just eliminated a tire kicker before he ever makes contact.

On the flip side, when their ideal customer visits the site, they see images that closely resemble their home and are comfortable making contact. 

You can also do a cost estimator, but a really complex cost estimator can easily break the budget of what a small shop wants to spend on an entire site.

I've dreamed about making a great cost estimator for a site, where a customer could literally go room by room and select the items they want in each room...I can do it easy enough, that's not the problem.  The problem is getting the shop to settle on products and pricing for each item.

Great thread