Ya know treating every thread with kidd gloves is getting terribly dumb.
There's a time and place for using the three tier system, but not for every frickin' transaction.
First of all, ya need to look the part and act the part. If ya ain't got that, use your 3 tier system and look like ya don't know what you're doing.
Awwww, I'll take what's behind door #2.
When you approach someone, either in person or online, ya need to find out exactly what it is they want. If they want channel letters, some monolith sign structure or a pylon sign..... ya need to know what these things are worth. You need to know it going in within 2 or 3 seconds. You assess the situation. Don't shoot from the hip, but ask them right up front..... do you have a budget ?? IF it sounds realistic, THEN you tell them, you can quote it with .050 aluminum or ACM. Front lit or halo. This is where you get the feel of what their intentions are. Tell them, it might go a bit above their budget, but you can possibly get it lower. It all depends on their desires. They make the decision to go cheap or not...... NOT YOU. You need to educate the customer and after doing it for 50 years, ya get damned good at it.
Just had a lady who asked for two wall murals about 9' x 22'. She had all the files and eventually made everything perfect for me to print and cut. Are you sure this is what you want ?? This is gonna be kinda expensive. That's Okay.
Gave her the price..... and they had a guy to instal it. I've worked with him before and he is quite capable.
Oh, we weren't expecting it cost that much.
Sorry.
2 days later, she came back with a much more simpler layout. It certainly reduced the cost and now, they want us to instal it.
I didn't offer 3 tiers. It is what it is.
Quote people on what they want, not what you think you can get away with to show off or make more money. Pack that in with each and every quote ahead of time.
A flat panel sign with raised letters would look stupid and be totally unnecessary, unless a letter fell off and got ya in trouble.
Basically, there is no real upelling, unless the customer says, hey, what if I............ ?? Or you make a little side comment about something which might interest them.
Doing this online as you indicated is not a good idea. Online sh!t is not a good idea. If you're gonna be installing this stuff or they're picking it or whatever, they can come in and you do you pow-wow in person.