Question for people

[CYoung]

Hi,

I had a meeting on Friday afternoon, with an....aquaintance. She wanted to know more about my design work etc. She has her own hair salon in the same village as me, but it is independent and never very busy.

I was in a situation where, I got the details I needed to come up with a price, but the price I had in mind, I knew was much too high for her and more than she would expect.

So, I had to bring my price down to fit in more with what she could afford, which yes, won't earn me as much as I normally would, but I had the mind-set that I would rather get £XXX amount, rather than lose the sale all together.

Has anybody been in a similar situation where they've had to really change something and think on their feet in order to hold on to the sale?

Thanks

CYoung

[KevJaques]

It's all a fine balance.

You should look at it long term, if you can strike up a balance with her over this and future work then great.
You could also look to percentage of sales as an alternative, then you both have a vested interest in the work. If for example you do a neat poster that grabs peoples attention and they say they saw the poster and decided to come in or are asked why they came in (and then they mention the poster) then you can see the poster is having an impact on business, so therefore could generate some income from that.
still with these things its all about testing.
The main issue is if you take on too much work like this then you will not be able to run your business. By now you should know how much it costs to run your business and pay your bills, if you can still do that and lower your costs great, if not then your stuck between a rock and a hard place which is why I mentioned future work with her or anyone for that matter.
There is also the issue of make it too cheap now and they will expect the same kind of thing going forward, I would introduce the concept of a discount at this stage and possible loyalty reward going forward the further they work with you.

[CYoung]

Thanks Kev,

She is looking to get printing too, which will be an on going thing, although the profit is limited to a certain extent, it allows her to stay in touch with me, should she need anything else, like posters or flyers etc.

Thanks

Curtis