Are You An Order Taker?

Most graphic designers are missing a trick! They are order takers. An order taker goes to a consultation with their new customer and asks them what they want. The customer will say something like I want a new logo and some business cards.

Designer: "Ok that will be £X" - and will discuss the brief.

You have just left a lot of money on the table.

What Is An Order Maker?

An order maker approaches the consultation in a different way. Instead of asking what the customer wants their aim is to get a deep understanding of why the customer have started their business and what they want to achieve.

Even tho the customer has asked to meet up with you for a logo and business cards, they don't really know that you can help them much more.

By asking why they are in business you start to open the conversation up about other aspects of what the customer is wanting to achieve and then you will start to notice other work that you quote for.

Widening The Scope To Quote

So if you are in front of a plumber and he asks you for a logo and a business card try these questions to widen the scope:

1. Why did you start this business?
2. What do you do differently to every other plumber out there? If I was looking for a plumber why should i choose you?
3. How do you currently get your customers? Is it word of mouth?

Here would be typical answers

1. I worked with someone else and got fed up, i can do a better job than my old boss, i want to choose my own hours, and build a business that supports me and my family
2. I'm all about quality and reliableness - what really annoyed me with my old boss is that he'd promise customers that we'd be there a certain day and time and then not turn up. He'd give an excuse why it didn't work out, and i found it quite embarrassing. I am a man of my word and I think it's unacceptable to let customers down. This is typical in the trades game and that's why im different - I will give a good quality of server and I will actually keep my promise when i give someone a date and time.
3. My customers refer me on, i have started a breakfast networking club. I really want to increase the number of customers i have and this logo and business card will help when I network

Can you see the level of information you get my asking "why" and getting deeper to try and understand what the customer is trying to achieve.

Using The Marketing Wheel In Your Consultation

Ok here's the clever bit. Now that we have some information about what this plumber is trying to achieve we can use the marketing wheel to generate more work.

From the conversation we have found out:

• he wants to be prompt and on time
• he works by word of mouth
• he has joined a networking club
• he's looking for more work

Step 1 - Explain the marketing wheel

The marketing wheel is cut into 8 different segments of types of marketing. This is where all sales are generated from. At the very heart of your marketing effort is the website. Whether they see your business card, your van or any marketing you have a customer is highly likely to visit your website to check you out. The website should be consistent with all of your marketing and repeat the same messages.

Do you have a website?

Answer - yes, but it's not very good, my mate did it for me. Quote Opportunity

Step 2 - Take a spin round the wheel

As a plumber your marketing will usually be focussed in the "Collateral" segment. So your business cards live here. Do you need letterheads to send your invoices out or to provide official quotations?

Quote Opportunity - Letterheads, Business Cards

Reading the "Flyers" on the marketing wheel - one marketing idea you could do is to get 10,000 flyers printed and get the delivered in neighbourhoods you think are your target audience. You can get a leaflet delivery company to hand deliver them for you for around £15 per thousand. What you do is decide on postcode areas you think need your services and then get some leaflets printed and get them delivered. Do you think that would work for you?

Quote Opportunity - Leaflet design and print

Pop up banner - when you go networking some clubs let you put your banner up so you can showcase your business. Would you like a pop up banner?

Quote Opportunity - Pop up banner design and print

What Have We Got?

Ok so by going through a very quick example we can see that when we explore and ask deeper questions we have generated more opportunities:

Website and hosting - £500 setup and £25 per month
Logo Design - £200
Letterheads - £50 design, £150 print
Business Cards - £50 design, £50 print
Leaflet Design - £50 design, £200 print
Pop Up Banner - £50 design, £150 print

Total of quote - £900 in design fees, £550 in print, and £25 per month for hosting

vs £300 for a logo and business cards.

The customer doesn't have to buy all this from you, however you have looked at his needs and given him some marketing advice and seeing that you are doing the logo then it would be much easier to get you to do the other bits too.

Magic Sales Formula

The marketing wheel is just one tool in our Magic Sales Formula module of our training that helps you increase both your time based revenue and your non-time based revenue which hosting gives you.