Free Samples

[AL Ursich]

I was asked to quote a job for some Accountability Boards using a design never seen before. The Design made up by a County 911 Center to be used by all the County's Fire Trucks. I made a sample per the the new design and freely gave it to them paying shipping and materials. Turns out I was not the only one asked and in the end I won the $8K bid and follow on work based on many reasons.

So in my case sending a FREE Sample had a very positive effect on my bottom line. I look for new projects just to add stuff to my product line. I knew I would have the pictures for my collection so having the physical board was not important. This weekend I am doing artwork for some Dry Marker Boards for a local 911 Emergency Communication Trailer with Radio Frequency and Agency blocks to be marked with a China Marker. Another FREE Sample that will result in more pictures for my Site and likely more work.

Now for the other side of the coin... I make Photo Accountability Tags and I tracked last year the Custom Photo Samples I made and of the 50 or so I made it resulted in 1 order... Turns out the offer for a cool photo tag is just too good to resist.... Even if you don't plan to buy a whole set for the department... I now just send generic sample and ask for payment for a single custom sample. Have not had any takers on the pay samples. So the free Custom Samples were a FAIL for me.... The Generic Samples get the Idea to the right people and I am very busy...

It's OK to delet this.

AL

[Bill Stearns]

Hey All -
Years ago - I still remember some of it - I read a marketing study by, believe it was, the Rockefeller Institute. Subject: Why people stop doing business with a business? I remember 'few of the reasons: They move away - pass away - start doing business with a friend, etc. The largest (whopping) percentage of people leaving - just remember it being very high - their reason? They did NOT feel that the business CARED! This has become kind' a the bottom-line with me: If a business I am dealing with doesn't seem to "care" about my business, well, I do my best to fine one which, 'least, appears to care! This goes for businesses I'm buying from, planning to buy from, or attempting to sell to. Small as I am, 'minute I don't feel valued .... I'm out' a there!

As for "samples" - swatches, etc. - think someone above hit on it: if companies feel they need to hold down "costs", they should do 'better job of qualifying the prospective customer. (Think 'bout how many glossy full-color supply catalogs you get 'n the mail - pushing products you have no use for; totally unrelated to your business. Or, in my case, the mailing label showing a company that I ran over 15 years ago!) From the mailman's hands to my trash can! Just thoughts.

Bill

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Andrei,
It's ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!!! If you don't want to ship or give out samples then load up your car with a few samples and drive to each of the places you want to do business with. make an appointment with the decision maker. Do your presentation and either get the order or take your sample on to the next one. It will take time and gas but that's the CODB...Cost of doing business. Do you have a trade show in the area for your type of products? How much does it cost? all costs..hotel, transportation, food, booth, labor, samples, literature, signage, etc... then do the math.
When I do my shows it costs 5-6000 USD If I get 250 leads and 20 are interested in making a purchase. Out of those 20, 4 or 5 order 100-200 units the show is paid for. Each ongoing order is where the profit comes in but that depends on how we service them and build the relationship.

[greg lindsey]

In some ways, you backed yourself into your own corner. You contacted them about a product you make... why should they pay (even shipping) to see what you have created? Why should they take all of the risk, even if it is a mere 30 euros?

I tend to agree with Dan here. If you feel like you have solid product and reasonably confident in the buyer. Take the chance, although I don't know what 30 euros equates to
but if you don't get the bat off the shoulder..you likely to strike out. I have given many free samples away, think about 70% return with orders

[Andrei Georgescu]

Well, the sample will be sent free of charge. After I'll design a few more products - I've got some new ideas that don't let me sleep - I'm also considering a tour like Michael suggested.
Thanks!

[Dan Hintz]

Well, the sample will be sent free of charge. After I'll design a few more products - I've got some new ideas that don't let me sleep - I'm also considering a tour like Michael suggested.
Thanks!

Let us know how it turns out for you, Andrei...

[Andrei Georgescu]

Will do, thanks Dan!

[Bill Cunningham]

25 years in business, I can't ever remember paying for a sample, swatch book, or product. Even Romark and others.

[Michael Reilly]

I lot depends on who you talk to at a company, and what place your business is in at the time. I know when I started out, I searched for potential suppliers and requested samples. Most just sent them, a few wanted me to cover shipping which was fine. I get that it costs money to cut up material and assemble them into books or chains, but if you want me to spec your product, I need a reference. One challenging one was Chemcast, a Mexican based acrylic company that our local supplier sells. The supplier never had any sample chains, I tried to contact the company repeatedly to request them. Finally I said "do you even have a sample chain?" and suddenly, I received 3 of them Fedex overnight. I promptly engraved them with our logo to show what they looked like engraved, photographed them and put them up on Flickr for others who wanted a reference as I did for so long. After a while, someone from the company commented on one of our blog posts saying thank you for using their products (and mentioning it by name.) Later when I needed more sample chains, I emailed him and got them immediately.

[Scott Shepherd]

One challenging one was Chemcast, a Mexican based acrylic company that our local supplier sells. The supplier never had any sample chains, I tried to contact the company repeatedly to request them. Finally I said "do you even have a sample chain?" and suddenly, I received 3 of them Fedex overnight. I promptly engraved them with our logo to show what they looked like engraved, photographed them and put them up on Flickr for others who wanted a reference as I did for so long. After a while, someone from the company commented on one of our blog posts saying thank you for using their products (and mentioning it by name.) Later when I needed more sample chains, I emailed him and got them immediately.

My acrylic swatch chains are like gold to me. We even refer to them like "gold" all the time. They were some of the most difficult things to acquire over the years and they are guarded pretty closely and not left out. I'll gladly show them to customers, but we don't let them out of our sight unless we have multiple copies of them.

We probably could have sold a lot more acrylic products over the years if we had the swatch chains freely available to us. No doubt it cost them $1,000's and $1,000's of dollars in lost sales per year, all because you wouldn't provide me with a swatch kit. Once you find the sources for them, they are easier to get, but overall, they are tough.

[Andrei Georgescu]

Well it didn't work out as planned. I sent the samples and no reply - not even "your product sucks good luck with that". So I've almost finished setting up my own shop and will likely not waste any more money on getting the products to resellers.

[AL Ursich]

Well it didn't work out as planned. I sent the samples and no reply - not even "your product sucks good luck with that". So I've almost finished setting up my own shop and will likely not waste any more money on getting the products to resellers.

Sorry to hear it did not work out. My gamble making a custom sample for a customer did pay off... Not many do... I got lucky.... This is today's project cutting Red Ears off the project.

AL

[Guy Hilliard]

Did you try contacting them and asking a, did you receive the sample? b, what is you opinion of it / is it something you can sell?

These people have other things to think about so call and remind them that you set something and you would like something in return, even if it's only a "bugger off and don't bother us again".

[Andrei Georgescu]

Thanks for the advice but I think I've learned something from this. I've also learned that quite a few times selling at a low price would not bring more customers, just make you work for less. And I thought most people were smart buyers... given similar products a lot of them would choose an expensive product over a cheap one. Last but not least, the best way to promote yourself is by word-of-mouth. Knocking on peoples' doors makes me look like a jehova's witness. Maybe some people are able to succeed that way but it's not for me.

[Bill George]

Thanks for the advice but I think I've learned something from this. I've also learned that quite a few times selling at a low price would not bring more customers, just make you work for less. And I thought most people were smart buyers... given similar products a lot of them would choose an expensive product over a cheap one. Last but not least, the best way to promote yourself is by word-of-mouth. Knocking on peoples' doors makes me look like a jehova's witness. Maybe some people are able to succeed that way but it's not for me.

I think most serious buyers look for good value. A good product at a fair price. I would give them a call as suggested and ask if they received your sample and if its being considered? I would also ask why not and if they had suggestions for improvements to meet their needs?