i need some words of encouragement...

[whitewater]

SO i lost a 300 shirt job and a 200 shirt job this week due to pricing..i really could have used those...maybe i have to adjust...

My wife is part of the pta at our kids school...she was last year as well.. well we printed for the fundraiser last year and it went very well...well this year my wife is the only member from last year...so she brings up the apparel fundraiser. I gave here the logo order form and what not..

Some of the other ladies questioned whether we were reliable...they had pamphlets from customink, and a few places in jersey...she told them we are a local business and have 2 kids in their school so it made sense to go with us...they said the companies they had pamphlets for just looked more professional...wtf? what the hell do i have to do to get orders in here?!? My kids school is giving me a hard time....why do i need to shell out $$$ for a effin pamphlet to get their approval....

not a good week

[tonypep]

PTA=?

[JBLUE]

Women + PTA= PIA. That is the nicest way to say it really.

[mk162]

trust me, your day can't be worse than mine.  customer approves a $2300 order and when it's delivered they tell me it's wrong.  Well, it matches the proof you approved, now they don't remember getting the proof, so I sent them the email and their response.  Crap, people are stupid.

[blue moon]

Rob,

next year when they order from you because the other company screwed up, raise the prices and tell them you had to pay for the flyers!
I would also make some really nice shirts for your kids and have them wear them in school. The other kids will be asking their parents why they can't have them!!! Eventually it will make it to the PTA and hopefully more than one person asks about it!

You can also bring up the point of CPSIA. Is the other company compliant? If you are and they are not, bring up the potential $40k fine and see who is responsible for it. Also, if your wife is on the board, she can refuse to accept the non compliant shirts.  (I can help you with compliance if you need that)

In the end, you know you are going to lose orders due to pricing, it happens all the time.

pierre

[whitewater]

your right, mk...

just feeling sorry for myself...

pta=parent teacher assoc?

pierre....right on

[Screened Gear]

I feel for you. In that situation your dealing with a bunch of PTA people (see how I didn't say "stay at home Mom's that have nothing better to do then drive you nuts) that all what their way so they look good at the end of the day. (I am not against women in any way) Just tell the women that like the pamphlets so much to get a quote for the shirts have them ask to be sent samples so they can see the quality of the prints. I would guess that is were it will stop.

You have to stick to your guns on pricing and the way you do business. When you need money do what you have to. It takes time to get your pricing to a point were you are confident in it. I have made changes to my pricing almost every month in my first 2 years. Not big changes just added a quarter here subtracted a dime there. Ask the customer how your price looks compared to other quotes they are getting. I am currently adjusting my pricing again. I am trying to bring in more low color large orders. It kind of a game to me at this point. I have a core client base and now I am just trying to build a new large order core.

[Shawn (EIP)]

Tell them Custom Ink outsources they do not print themselves. (or do they?)

[inkman996]

Dont know about anyone else but as of last month Custom Ink commercials are now being played in my area, and they are running pictures of local schools and fire departments they have done jobs for. Turns my stomach when I see it, but brings a smile to my face when I see the volunteer FD's using them.

PTA's can be a nightmare, volunteer ninnys with absolutely nothing better to do  and operate under the assumption if they accomplish enough for the PTA they might get a wing named after them lol. I find about 50% of PTA moms to be brutaly arrogant and absolutely mindless about supporting local business.

You almost want to ask them "isn;t the fact you are volunteering to be a PTA mom because you want to support your childs school? Well we want the local schools work because we think people should support local businesses just like you want to support your school."

[Homer]

Rob. remember that e-mail I sent you about perceived value? read up towards the top - something about looks are everything. well here we are -however I think custom inks stuff looks like arial black with a hint of comic sans - you need a BANGIN design / brochure /ad campaign. there are so many great artists here that can help with that -use it, it's a tool to your advantage over those guys in jersey.

I don't care what anybody says -looks are everything. . . and yes you do need to pay for it.

. . .take these losses as learning curves. now you need to prepare for the next time. you have just been given information as to why you lost these jobs, so now it's on you to fix your model a bit and get back at it. These guys will be back after they get lousy service /prints from the other guys. So be prepared. Put that scholarship in to play, maybe you can snag them back with that. . .you know my motto "If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll only get what you got"

We have all been there - hell we all go through this everyday, it's not just you. Everybody knows somebodies cousin that puts paint on t-shirts. . .now go focus on what you have, not what you don't. . .

[royster13]

Focus your efforts like a laser beam on business to business sales.....And that means knocking on doors....Over the years I have found them to be a more reliable source of sales versus schools, churches, sport teams, etc.....For the latter, there always seems to be someone on the board, committee, etc. that know someone in the business so you lose on that count.....Also, these groups tend to be much more price sensitive than business owners.....And when you go out looking for orders, you can find folks that are not yet looking, so you have a better chance of writing up orders before they start shopping.....And if you do, they may not be as price sensitive as once they start looking.....

[mk162]

i deal with this all the time, a local college went out of state for their stuff and the local middle school went with a printer outside of the city limits after they told me they would give me a shot at it since I am actually inside the city limits.  I never even got the chance to quote it.

I can't make people use me, I can just offer a fair price for a great product.  They should be using you instead of custom ink, but let their stuff come in looking like crap and see how long it takes them to get quotes from you.

Homer is right, design is everything.  Look at the new fast food restaurants popping up.  They are sleek and swanky on the inside, with shirts that talk about how smart you are for eating their and all that feel good crap. 

[ebscreen]

Appearances are everything.

But trust me, whatever the other guy is doing it for is not worth the aggravation
of dealing with the PTA.

[GraphicDisorder]

Why wouldn't you have some hand outs?  Doesn't cost much?  We put some in EVERY box that leaves here.  HUGE way we earn more business. 

Do you know how many people are unboxing their order and their buddy is with them and he said where did you get these?  Boom next thing I know I get a email saying X/Y/Z just got his shirts and I was there he gave me your hand out.  Id like to order some shirts. 

[brandon]

I am sure once they receive the shirts they will be bummed due to quality. You will get them next year and you can mark them up even a bit more this time and they will pay to not have the crap quality they received the year before.