Zen Windows - Doing Replacement Windows Differently

When Daniel Wolt started Zen Windows, he decided it would be unique. Sure, all window replacement companies say they do business differently. The customer is number one. Or: If you're not happy, we're not happy. All those worn-out Dale Carnegie-era platitudes. But Zen Windows would truly be different.

First order of business, the pitch. Keep the sales talk to fifteen minutes or less. Sure, if the customer wants to go longer, fine. But he would not abduct potential customers.

Then there's the price markdown game. Look at it this way. Say you're talking to a potential customer and you start at a certain price per window. Two hours into the sales pitch, you say, "Well, my regional manager will kill me for this, but I'll make you a deal. Let's knock off twenty percent." No customer in his right mind would turn down a lower price. But look at this closer, look at the psychology of the thing: you have now broken your trust with the customer. You have now revealed yourself as, basically, a liar. What if they had taken the higher price?

Another game is the "today only" sale, as if the replacement window industry is so volatile, so subject to fluctuations, that prices change from hour to hour, day to day. Wrong. Like everything else, window prices do change, but over a much longer period of time. So forget the "today only" sale.

Daniel Wolt meets with each customer himself. There are no salesmen who, once they have your sale, conveniently forget about you. Because Wolt sees the process through from start to finish, he's the go-to guy for all aspects of the job.

So is this "zen windows" thing a put-down, a technique to distance himself from the hundreds of competitors? For Wolt, it's simply how he was brought up and how he can enjoy life. He admits that it's not the most effective selling technique. Those hardsell techniques do result in sales. That's why people do that. But he's not interested in a scorched earth policy. He'd rather build lasting relationships with customers and build business slowly but surely from good word-of-mouth.