Comercial work

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

I'll bet theirs a lot of business people that have this problem. For every 10 commercial or government estimates I give, I get maybe one job.  Considering that some companies hire full time employees to simply review government contracts, that's not a bad ratio!
I've learned over the years that their usually shopping for the lowest price so when they call I tell them right off that I'm not the cheapest guy in town. They say oh no no no we want some one who'll do a real nice job. Right!  GIve me the name of one person the past two years who is not shopping price these days.  I'll bet you are, too!

Awhile ago I gave an in house estimate to an upscale hotel in Lake City. This place had a real nice Lobby and the manager pointed out 8 or 9 pieces he needed reupholstered. I let him know I'm not the lowest price in town but our quality can't be beat. I said a nice place like this needs a high end upholsterer. I really talked myself up . He kept telling me he wants only the best. I kept getting the feeling he wasn't the decision maker but I took the time to work up an estimate anyway. 3 months later no reply. Yes I tried to call him back and he's never their. This happens 3 or 4 times a year.  In my honest opinion, people want BOTH quality and value; you offered only one of the two.  The people you are quoting are not likely to have any concept of your level of quality vs. a competitor.  Best to say "We offer the very best quality and competitive prices."  That works, and doesn't incriminate yourself as being high end and expensive.  In fact, you may have no idea what your competitors are going to quote, high or low.  At least keep yourself in the game here.  In fact, if I was getting a quote, and someone told me they were not the least expensive off the bat, I might just head for the hills!  Or, at the very least, get another quote; I would feel stupid not to.  Either way, it's not good.
The latest was at the EMS call center. I herd the lady showing me around tell one of the employees, "ya I have to get 3 estimates". The funny thing is a week later a decorator called and asked if we could give her an estimate for the EMS call center. I could tell you a real doozy about the VA hospital but I'll save it for another time.

To top it off they act like this is just part of my job.  It is.    
I'm sure every one has this same problem. How do you deal with what seems like a big waste of time?  

Don't take this the wrong way, I am saying this tongue in cheek, but I do feel there is some truth mixed in here, too!   ;)

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

Aside from having fun with kodydog's post, hopefully not at his expense, I do want to say that posts from
sterry56 were fantastic, and on point.  Lots of great notes and nuggets in there.  Almost too good to be true, and it softly hits on a lot of barriers that I see people running into; trying to take on the World all by themselves.  Trying to circumvent the system.  Doing work with the government or commercial business is certainly not for the faint of heart.  But one thing sterry56 points out well is that you if you are to succeed, you must play by their rules, or your ship is sunk.  Does it make sense?  Is it logical and efficient, most of the time?  NO!  It rarely is.  Get over it, stop trying to be the Lone Ranger standing up to the system, doing things your own way, and never giving up.  It's a battle many have fought and few have won. 

[bobbin]

A refugee from the barely breathing domestic garment industry, I believe I've fallen in love with Sterry56 and his understanding of the "piece rate" thing.  What great posts! 

But, implicit in those posts, is the ability to think carefully about the bid you're about to submit and the small, subtle ways you can "market" your skills by asking the questions that get the customer thinking about the work from your point of view not only as a fellow businessman but as an educated "consumer". 

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

A refugee from the barely breathing domestic garment industry, I believe I've fallen in love with Sterry56 and his understanding of the "piece rate" thing.  What great posts! 

But, implicit in those posts, is the ability to think carefully about the bid you're about to submit and the small, subtle ways you can "market" your skills by asking the questions that get the customer thinking about the work from your point of view not only as a fellow businessman but as an educated "consumer". 

Another great point; an educated consumer.  My best customers are educated consumers, who understand the value of our services, not just only a price tag.  Kind of full circle thread here, going back to educating your customer if they don't see the value in your work and service, and expertise.   

[kodydog]

These were all great posts and I'm still trying to digest it all. Sterry, we could use a lot more posts like yours. I can see where someone could take your ten points and really take off with them. I love the way he saw an opportunity and created a business around it. I'm working on my own list of conditions that will create the standard for all others to go by and plan on using it in my next commercial estimate.
After reading these posts I had to ask myself what is it I really want. I don't have the means to run a business like Sterry did. My best costumers are retired homeowners, wealthy, and appreciate fine craftsmanship. So this is the person my business peruses. If an occasional commercial job comes my way I'll gladly take it. A lot of people think the upholstery business is highly competitive. I don't see it this way. If you do the highest quality possible and give excellent customer service you can get the price you want and customers will come to you in throngs. In bad times when others are closing their doors, you'll find your greatest opportunities. Look around yourself and ask how can I make my product better? What can I do to create more income? What niche can I fill? You can't run a business by under bidding your competition. Sooner or later someone will come along and beat your price.
In my original post I wasn't trying to figure out how to get more commercial jobs but how to make better use of my time.
Sterry my hats off to you. I'm sure there were times you felt married to your business. But you made it work.

[Dede]

...a women owned business would receive first priority in the bid process.

I personally know of two businesses where the wife legally owns the business (51%), but has nothing to do with it.  Operated entirely by the husband.

You can guess why.