The Best Way to Submit a Price

I was on the phone with a representative from L.L.Bean. Years ago, I learned not everyone knows about this Freeport, Maine, company and there are actually some who don’t care. New Englanders are bound by DNA breeding techniques to not only shop there but visit the giant store at some point in their life.

Anywho ...

There was an issue with an order I had placed and Christine, my wonderful phone rep was delighted to help. Very quickly, it became clear to me that she was a huge fan of her employer. What a difference that made in the entire transaction and it got me thinking, imagine if print salespeople applied that same approach. Hmmmmm, it might even make a great blog. I could write about ...

Nawwwww. Let it go.

The next day, I was on a coaching call with a client from Connecticut. He signed on with a print/promo “franchise” (for lack of a better word) a couple of months earlier and had just returned from their corporate headquarters for his first visit. His praise for the entire experience was effusive: “I am thrilled to be associated with them!”

Wait, what? Who talks like that? For the second time in 24 hours, I was having a conversation with someone in love with their employer. Okay, this is a sign to crank out a blog ...

Imagine submitting a bid that not only gives numbers but puts your company pride on display.

“Thank you for the opportunity to provide pricing. FarkaBerry Printing is proud to submit the following proposal:

• This job was estimated by Jim Douglas. Jim is a newlywed and they’ve just bought their first house.
• Should we win this bid, you’ll be receiving a call from Linnea Berry. She’ll be your Customer Service Rep. Linnea is the granddaughter of the founder and she’s been with us for five years now. As an aside, congratulate her on winning the club tennis championship.
• After Linnea enters the order, it will go to Prepress and run through our new equipment. FarkaBerry recently invested over $1 million in that department. Everything is state of the art. Bill Gates works here. Just kidding.
• From prepress, it heads to production. Overseeing your order is Chris Mutkowski. Chris has so much print experience, we are all pretty sure he interned for Gutenberg.
• On press, we’ve got Bryan Maskell, our newest and brightest pressman. Bryan recently returned from a two-week training class to get him up to date on all new developments.
• Oh, and the paper! Our paper rep, Ashley, is an expert in selecting the perfect sheet for you. We regularly call on her for advice.
• Once the job hits Finishing, it will be cut, folded, and stitched by Julia and Jasmine Jones. They are twins and we call them the “J” Team for obvious reasons. There are none better than these two.
• Finally, to get your order to you quickly, we use our own trucks. This puts your order in Georgia Berry’s hands. Georgia is Linnea’s sister but has eschewed working inside so she can do what she loves to do: drive!
• Linnea will then follow up with you to ensure your satisfaction. Naturally, I’ll be there as well, monitoring your order and keeping you informed.

And that’s it. Our team is ready and excited to meet you. We all hope the price of $10,206 meets your satisfaction and we can begin the process. I will follow up in a day or two. Thank you again for the opportunity to be of service.”

Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m dreaming. But wouldn’t it be cool if we could do something like this?

Bill Farquharson can be reached through his new website, BillFarquharson.com, which was curated by his amazing wife, the former Allison Berry. If you call Bill, ask him about his six FarkaBerry daughters and one FarkaBerry son.