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Quotes

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:46 am
by Case
Hi this is my first post on this forum and would like to thank everybody who help's out with this site, it provides very useful information. I'm new to the printing business and I have a few questions. We quoted a customer for 200 shirts about 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back from him yet. I know you don't win every bid and that's understandable. Should I do a follow up call or email with the customer? If they found a lower bidder is it alright to ask what the low bid came in at?

I bid the job at $1,500
50/50 blend
100 black tees 3 color front & 3 color back print
100 ash tees 2 color front & 2 color back print

What would this bid go for in other states?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:04 am
by ROADSIDE
well.... where are you located? Do you have a store front? Manual or Auto?

Based on the info you gave me, our bid would have been $1575
That includes all setup fees and 1 hour of design time.

I would say you are on the money with your quote.

Now.... do you call the customer.... Thats up to you.
I am really good at reading the customers when they come in, but if they leave a certain way... you know they are not coming back.
Now if its a school or team organization... they tend to run slow. 9 out of 10 times you dont need to follow up on a quote.

If you decided to follow up on a quote, 100% YES ask what they paid and where they went. Be nice!!
If they say they are "Holding Off" or "Decided not to get them" you know it was not your price but their wallet was the problem.
OR they could just be a competitor getting the prices of the new guy.
Always get FULL CONTACT INFO! Name, Address, Phone #s and Email.
Kinda helps weed out the phishers and builds a nice mailing list!


You have to ask yourself these questions when dealing with the customer:
#1 Is this customer someone I WANT to do business with.
(not every customer is going to be a good one)

#2 Does this person have the money to do business?
(if they represent a big company or a school odds are the money is there)

#3 Is this customer a phishing for prices?
(are they your competitors? I get that alot... kids starting out wanting to know what I charge. I tend to school them instead of playing the spying game)

#4 How old is this customer?
(hate to say it but younger customers tend to have less money and want more done)


Hope my 2 cents of street wisdom helps,
T

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:21 pm
by Case
Thanks for your quick feedback and indepth information Roadside. We are located in Ohio, we do have a store front and we have a 8 color 8 station manual press.

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:08 pm
by ROADSIDE
Manual.... wow. thats a lot of printing.

How long will it take you to run 100 shirts, 3 colors front and back?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:48 am
by Case
Yeah we're on a tight budget now just trying to get everything up and running. It takes us about 4 to 6 hours depending on if we run into any problems. It's a big learning curve but everything is coming together.