Maybe I'm old, but it seems that a recurring theme in my life is finding value - value in what I buy, do and recommend to others. The question remains, "What is value - at least in the realm of equipment?" I don't think that question will be answered completely today, but let me share a couple examples of value and what it is and isn't.
Just this week, I've had two conversations about value, and I've been both on the receiving and on the giving end.
After almost 20 years of doing what I do, I've learned that when equipment companies like ours present their value that you can pick any two of these three factors -- lowest price, expert personal service, and quick product delivery. In this business, you can choose generally only two of those. I like to think that we offer a pretty good balance of the three, or at least the better of the two that I feel are more important.
What you value, you have to choose for yourself.
This week, I started a new nutrition regimen. It's one that a friend of mine has been following and he's enjoying the results. He has more energy, is losing weight, and thinks that he's found somewhat of a renewed life. That's important for those of us who are on the other side of 40.
He's a bodybuilder type and is a fanatic about whatever he does, so he talked me into it. Of course he did. I love a sales pitch.
The program costs a lot, compared to others, and I said, "But can't I take the the protein powder that I've been taking? Up until 8 weeks ago, you took the same stuff that I take now."
Here's where the advise came in. He said, "This is a program. It was designed to give certain results. You paid a lot of money for this program, and don't you want to be able to know whether the the program works, or not?"
That's a fair point.
We do the same thing as the nutrition company. We design systems, but it's up to our client to stick with the "program" to assure that they get the results they expect. Sometimes, when we call to check the progress of the decision making of a potential client, we find that they've taken our design and bought a piece here and a piece there, and substituted this for that -- and that they're either not getting the results that they expected and/or are in over their head and need support.
What the person doesn't know at this point is whether our design was good or not, or whether they compromised it by picking and choosing. Had we sold it as a system (our "program"), it would be fair to ask us for help.
Since the equipment was bought a piece here and another there, there's no single source to "blame." Any of the other dealers would be perfectly just to say to that person, "You ordered it, and yes, you bought it from me, but I didn't tell you that it would work."
I think that getting products that integrate well into great systems should be part of your value-driven decision making process. Only real world experience can provide that to you.
What we value at Truth Seeker, and through our website Geartechs.com, is providing responsive, knowledge-based service, and giving you the best product that we know of to get the job done. That's it.
We feel no reason to sell you something that's not going to work, and frankly, we'd prefer not to.
Getting the right product into your hands the first time is our part of your stewardship equation.