In my opinion, Kurt Thaldorf lost the sale on june 1, which is the date Kurt gave Hartman an informative quote about the price. Mediquip should carry out a thorough research on the market before approaching prospects. Company should be aware of price quotations of competitors'. They should perform cost/benefit analysis to come up with a reasonable price to offer. Overall have more information and be better prepared, and most important more responsive to the customers concerns and needs. Mediquip had believed that their price reflected a technological superiority. It looks like Mediquip had positioned it's product as a high-end product. Somehow Lohman University Hospital (LUH) didn't think so or may be the hospital did not need a high end product. It is quite obvious that LUH was not looking for a product which is 'at least two years ahead of the most advanced competition.'' (quoted by Mediquip). Or the specs which Mediquip value as a superior technology may not be recognized as the same way by the customers. So the question of 'Does Mediquip really know what the customers want from them?' arises. Mediquip should carry out a thorough market research. Mediquip should be aware of both the technological specs and prices of competitors'.
In addition, Mediquip should understand the concerns and needs of LUH. Kurt should first tried to get to know LUH. He had enough time (six months) to do that. He should know the answers to the following questions: What kind of a CT scanner was LUH looking for? Were they looking for a high-end product, a traditional or a low-end product? What was LUH's financial position during the last couple of years? Were they doing fine? Could they afford a CT scanner in the upper end of the price range? How much budget did or could LUH allocate for a CT scanner? What was their