‘Move vs. Improve?’ – Help Your Customers Decide
By Bill Asdal, Asdal Builders, LLC We all have had customers who struggle with how to shape a remodeling or building project. The design is in question. The budget is a mystery. The selections are overwhelming. Sometimes the remodeling project is so overwhelming, the customer begins to think that maybe the best course is to move or buy new. This is a very normal dilemma fraught with complex questions. The key is to help get the customer to the solution he needs by dissecting the decision process itself. “Move vs. Improve” actually is a classic question that can be broken into the two parameters of any decision-making. - First are the criteria that will be applied.
- Second is listing all the options available.
Some weighting of the criteria will help hone the decision to each individual’s proposed answer. In fact, my wife and I struggled with this question a few years back after we had bought a scenic farm plot in the next town and began planning a new home for our growing family. As we discussed what we should include in the house, I could feel some hesitancy in the discussions. Being an analytical sort, and having surpassed the limited value of simply making lists, I made a matrix of the criteria we would use to make the decision. The rows represented the various options available. The columns were the weighted criteria to score the options. The chart looked like this: 
The chart enabled us to weight our highest negotiated criteria ― location — the highest. The other criteria were all entered and scored accordingly. All provided input and perspective toward the decision. We decided not to move and, instead, improved. We have had a number of clients go through this decision-making process and then run to a different zip code when the opportunity arose. You can help your customers with this laborious decision. A free working model of my matrix is available at: www.asdalbuilders.com/articles_links.html. Since I have had the matrix copyrighted, I ask that you reference the tool and my company as you help steer your customers toward their best decision. Unwinding such a vaporous decision process into a handy tool will allow you contractor to bring additional value to your client before the first nail goes into the site. Bill Asdal is president of Asdal Builders LLC, of Chester, N.J. Asdal Builders has been providing quality building and remodeling services since 1973. For more information, e-mail or call his company at 908-879-4427, or visit the Asdal Builders Web site at www.asdalbuilders.com.
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