Jim Armstrong, founder of Armstrong Marketing Systems and FCNews’ Marketing Mastery columnist, will present “How to Get the Customer Who Doesn’t Ask About Price” at TISE 2027 in Las Vegas. The session runs Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 10:00 to 10:50 a.m. in South Pacific D, North Convention Center, at Mandalay Bay.
The session takes aim at a problem every independent dealer knows: hours spent pulling samples, measuring and building a quote, only to hear “we want to think about it” and lose the job to a competitor who came in a little cheaper. Armstrong will show attendees the unspoken question every customer brings through the door, how to build a “Zero Resistance” selling environment that makes comparison shopping nearly impossible, and how to become the obvious, trusted choice before a customer ever sets foot in the store. He’ll also share how a brand-new salesperson, with a Lowe’s and a Home Depot close enough to walk to, more than doubled his close rate and pushed margins from 33% to over 40%, without discounting.
“Most dealers think they lost the deal because their price was too high. The truth is the sale was lost before they ever wrote the quote,” Armstrong said. “Price shoppers aren’t a market condition. They’re a positioning problem. When I ask dealers what the unspoken question on every customer’s mind is, 97% get it wrong. Answer it, and price stops being a factor. This isn’t textbook theory. It’s what’s working for dealers right now, and you can start using it the Monday you get back from Vegas.”
When the session wraps, Armstrong will head straight to the Overtime with the Experts room for about 30 minutes of open Q&A, where dealers can bring their toughest marketing or sales challenge. Since 2007 he has helped hundreds of independent dealers raise margins and take control of their marketing, and he is the author of three books for the industry, including “How Floor Dealers Can Beat the Boxes and Escape the Cheap Price Rat Race of Doom Forever.” Session details and a short preview video are at JimAtTISE.com.
Marketing leadership. Jim Augustus Armstrong is the founder of Armstrong Marketing Systems, providing fractional CMO leadership to flooring and home service companies. He takes ownership of his clients’ marketing — building the strategy, installing the systems and managing the KPIs that drive predictable, profitable growth. Reach him at connect@ armstrongmarketingsystems.com or visit ArmstrongMarketingSystems.com.