My clients and many of my readers are small and home-based business owners, and one of
biggest struggles they face is getting new customers.Getting new customers is costly and requires a repeated effort. Once you have a customer it is easier to retain them as long as they are receiving value and benefit from their relationship with you.
I recall a woman I dealt with years ago while I was serving as an executive member for our police association.
The legal name of
association was changing and we needed new letterhead, business cards, etc.
I knew this woman was trained as a graphic artist and was starting her own business.
Always wanting to support new entrepreneurs, I asked her if she would be interested in preparing several samples of draft letterhead and business cards for our review.
She was excited about
opportunity and informed me she didn't have any set prices, but would create some designs and provide a proposal if we decided to accept her work.
She provided three samples to choose from. The designs she created could be used interchangeably on
letterhead, envelopes and business cards.
Her work was good. Our Executive Team reviewed
samples and selected a favorite.
I contacted
woman several days later and informed her we liked her designs and were interested in purchasing one. I then asked her to submit a written proposal for our consideration.
When I received her faxed quotation I almost fell off my chair. She wanted $750! She provided a breakdown indicating $200/hour for three hours work, and $150 for
design.
When I presented
quotation at
next executive meeting,
team members' jaws dropped and
graphic artist's proposal was unanimously denied.