I was at a business mixer last night and you know what the topic on everyone's tongue was................??
How cheap their own individual industry is becoming. There were about 5 separate conversations, at various times throughout the short evening.... and they all revolved around people from telecommunications, to a print shop, to two designers, business equipment company, physical therapy business, a real estate team and some others I don't remember any longer. They all were b!tching how people/customers are gravitating towards price and price alone. They're sold a bill of bad goods, don't know they just got burned and then do it all over again. People are listening to the bullcrap they're being fed by snake oil salesmen/women and acting on misinformation, just like the kind the OP here wants to do. We had more people joining in our conversation, nodding their heads, than people actually paying attention to the hosts...... and they had the free food and drinks ))))
The people who want to mislead their clients or just plain deceive them, by cutting corners and talking out the sides of their mouth have always been around. It's nothing new, but the sudden increase in their numbers in the last 10 years or so is completely overwhelming. These customers get burnt, then look around for the next cheap guy and then the next... hoping they're gonna find a miracle. In the meantime, no matter how well a product you might make is..... they say they can't afford it, since they put so much bad money into this project already. They are being brainwashed that signs are cheap, no matter where you go and all the same. That's the hurdle we all face. You get what you pay for and if they're willing to only look at numbers, then so be it.
We, still sell on craftsmanship and service, not price. We are totally competitive, but we will not cut corners. We've taken measures to prevent cheap people from calling on us, but they're out there and continue to call us. Sometimes, we can talk one into coming in and seeing what a real sign is all about. These other a$$wipes that just sell a bunch of crap just don't stay in it very long, but for everyone that goes out-a-business, two new ones pop up.
