1. SALES APPROACH
This is covered in another blog. But to reiterate, is the salesperson giving you information, answering your questions, and explaining the product? Or is he/she giving you those irritating open ended questions masked in a super high pressure sales pitch? Is he/she listening to your wants and needs or are you getting a formula quote with “discount” after “discount” after each previous quote rejection? Ask yourself this. Was the appointment conducive of a teacher/student relationship with the sole objective of providing information or was it more indicative of a time share sales pitch? A Beyond-Basements’ appointment can last 15 minutes—just long enough for us to measure and follow your layout—or it can last a few hours if you want to hear our ideas and put forth your concerns and desires…it’s totally up to you. We’ll then go back to the office and spend time customizing your quote. Heck, we’ll even email it to you. There isn’t another basement system in the country which does it like this!

2. VALUE PER DOLLAR
Purchasing the Mona Lisa for one million dollars would be great value for your dollar. Now that doesn’t mean everyone could still afford it, but hopefully you would recognize that it would be a great deal. With that said, when one considers the materials we install, the finished installation of those materials, our ability to change designs when problems occur, our overall knowledge and experience, and our genuine concern with treating your basement like it was our own, even if we were twice as much as our competitors we would still be a great value for your dollar. Still not convinced, then ponder this. I, as the owner, make the sales calls. I, as the owner, make any custom cabinetry and am there for the wall layout. Depending on how busy we are, I am also installing the trim and doing the tiling for the bathroom, and the stone for the fireplace, and milling the custom trim, etc.. I have worked on every basement we have done. In most case, because we are still small, I have worked on at least 50% of each basement. I have also been there, every day, for about 30% of the basements we have done. When first starting out I did the first three all by myself. What does this mean to you? Two basement companies priced exactly the same doing the exact same job. Company A doesn’t have to pay a sales commission or an owner sitting at a desk. It is all going to materials and labor. Company B needs to get a nice profit to the owner in the office, needs to pay a sales commission, needs to pay a supervisor, and needs to pay the installers. If they are using subs (for the fireplace for instance, see later in this blog) they need to make a markup on them also. Don’t you think Company A would be more inclined to do a better job or do those few extras that all homeowners seem to ask for during a construction job? After all, they are making much more per hour. I mean the job is $20,000 with $10,000 in materials. That’s $10,000 in labor to Company A. For Company B, that $10,000 in labor needs a slice taken out for the salesperson, the owner, the supervisor, and any subs. Now the workers are only making $5000. Who is more inclined to do a better job? And if both are being paid the same in terms of labor, then wouldn’t it make sense that Company A could give you a $5000 discount to offset the sales commission and other costs they don’t have or that they could at least upgrade the materials (like the solid core doors we install and no one else does)? There is not another system in the country which uses the types of materials we use: solid core doors, high profile trim, unique cove molding, plus all the regular materials incorporated into our system. No one gives you more value for your dollar. Yet we are consistently priced lower than Owens Corning, Matrix Basements, Total Basement Finishing and many others.

3. COST
Obviously this is important. Understand though that price is generally reflective of quality. Here’s an example. I could buy a suit in a suburb of Chicago and spend $1000. That same suit on Michigan Ave. in Chicago might be $1500. That $1500 suit isn’t going to be any better. But, a $120 suit at Walmart is not going to compare. I hope you realize that. Now perhaps you only want that $120 suit. To each his own. Just understand that it probably won’t fit and last as well as a quality garment; moreover, when it comes time to sell that suit you might not get much for it. Now, if you are willing to at least consider a quality suit, not just some cheap sewn fabric, we can help you. We have several systems to meet any budget. It’s like having a choice of a $1000 suit, $750 suit, $500 suit, even a $250 suit.Even considering the higher quality materials, superb craftsmanship, and doing all those little extras we are still priced less than many of those big, popular systems—even after their fake discounts! And for the systems we are priced more than, just what exactly are you getting. Is the entire basement lighting on one switch, or is it divided into separate areas with dimmers? Is there a dedicated 20 amp outlet for the treadmill? Is the job a complete turn key operation or are you stuck with painting the soffits? Did the basement company put in those extra hours to get that drop ceiling an extra inch higher?The point is just comparing the above 4 scenarios with two companies only by price would not a prudent move. It can’t be done because these companies are doing different things. It’s difficult enough doing it with most household items (a TV with model #XDR90 at a discount food/department store is not the same XDR90 TV at a speciality electronics store. Did you know that?) Now throw into the mix that you typically can’t compare these basement companies because if you don’t sign that day you will lose your 50% discount. A daunting task indeed.There is not another system in the country which details their scope of work like we do, nor anyone else who will specifically adjust their price to a competitor’s quote so you can compare apples to apples.

4. INTEGRITY OF COMPANY
I covered some of these in previous blogs. Why do both spouses have to be present? Why does the quote keep coming down? Why are they offering financing? Why are they asking what you can afford per month? Why do those special terms not apply to your specific situation? Are there negative reviews of this company?In my opinion all red flags. I’m not good at sales because I don’t do these things—probably one of the reasons Beyond-Basements does less basements than probably all of our competitors. But I just can’t bring myself to duping the public. I figure that eventually I will educate them enough and we will reap the benefits, all along keeping with my values and beliefs.Anyway, to hit you over the head again with it…
THE ONLY REASON BOTH SPOUSES MUST BE PRESENT AND THE ONLY REASON THE QUOTE KEEPS COMING DOWN IS BECAUSE THAT SALESPERSON WANTS YOU TO SIGN A CONTRACT THAT DAY.

There is no other reason. And to buy anything without sleeping on it is stupid, stupid, stupid.As explained on my website, we don’t offer financing, only in-house financing if you desire. But that is between me (as the owner of the company) and you. Nothing wrong with me giving you $10,000 worth of trade on your basement remodel in exchange for you providing $10,000 in legal work for me. Or giving me that $10,000 fishing boat in your backyard. But for a company to offer financing through “their financing company” does not benefit you. Why would anyone use that company’s financing arm unless it was the lowest rate when comparing tens of other rates which could easily be done on the internet in a matter of minutes. Stupid, stupid, stupid. As for the “only $200 per month” gimmick, come on. Read the fine print. It’s hard to imagine anyone falling for this but customers do everyday. I just read an ad for a company in Chicago offering a new tear off roof for $99 a month. Yea, 15% interest and limited to only 1200 s.f. But that $99 a month catches the public’s eye. For me it instantly takes that company out of the running (of course I don’t have to worry about hiring any contractors for anything but how do I sympathize with most people facing these situations.) This example also carries over to the “not applying to my specific situation.” Why can’t they just state what the job and price are? Is this really a sign of a company with high integrity. As for the negative reviews, that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The BBB does give the company an opportunity to respond and I believe they do some verification. But there are so many other websites out there where anyone can bad mouth anyone else. That isn’t fair. Even if it was a legitimate customer, so many times the complaint is exaggerated or taken out of context. When considering these complaints, I would see how detailed the complaint is, read reviews of the website posting the complaint to see if it is reliable, and also take an account of the overall number of complaints about the company. A new TV may have five reviews. Four rate it with 5 stars. One rates it at 1 star. The overall rating becomes 3.5 or 4. But is that really fair especially when the 1 star rating was because the TV got shipped with a scratch? Beyond-Basements is the only system in the country which does not engage in these sales gimmicks. We are also the only system in the country which will give you the names of our competitors and encourage, almost beg you, to have them come out and quote you. We are not afraid.



5. OPTIONS

How many fabric options does the company offer?

Beyond-Basements offers virtually unlimited colors and style options for its fabric walls, we’re talking thousands upon thousands with the ability to stretch even your own denim, leather, or fabric.

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Our competitors: anywhere from one to about 30.
How many trim options do they offer?

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Beyond-Basements offers 23 standard profiles in 15 trim finishes with the ability to custom match or design any trim in any custom color and still have it incorporate into our system.
Our competitors: typically one style in white or Oak.