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what strategy can i use when trying to sell a wrap?
What strategy do you guys & gals use when you’re trying to sell a client on a wrap? Do you show them your portfolio and sell them on what you’ve done or do you come up with a few designs for them specifically and say "look what we can do for you.."?
I ask because as a designer, I hate, with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns, working on ANYTHING that isn’t billable. Doing spec work for a possible client falls under this heading.. I’m not talking about clients that will probably buy a wrap if it looks good enough, I’m talking about clients that may not even know what a vehicle wrap is. Our sales guy constantly has me working on designs for clients who have committed to nothing and have paid nothing up front for design time. Is that normal? Seems like a huge waste to me.
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6 Replies
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hi mate, not my thing but I’m certain there was a discussion on this very topic within the past month if you look back. gd luck
graeme -
Yeah, I see a long sales thread but I’m looking for more information on the selling process itself as it pertains to me as a designer.
We’re a new company and the owners are *constantly* talking about how we need money, gotta make some money, we’re short on money, blah blah blah… yet at the same time I’d be willing to bet 50% of my time as a designer is spent working on things that aren’t billable, and it drives me insane. In the last year I’ve spent more time on spec work and freebies than I have in my entire design career before this (started in 1996). Is that the norm in the vehicle wrap industry?
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Why would the owners want to push Vehicle wraps? If they are just looking to boost sales then they would probably make a better profit margin just selling normal cut graphics.
With every customer they deal with the sales people should be getting an idea of what the customer wants and what the customer is prepared to spend before getting designs done for pie in the sky sales.
Maybe the sales team are only looking at work that earns them the most money in commission rather than the cheaper jobs which would bring the company in more money.
I use to carry a portfolio of my work about with me and when talking to a customer would get a feel for the sort of thing they wanted and a rough idea of the sort of money they wanted to spend before actually designing anything for them. I also had a set of designs drawn up for a made up company with a single one colour job through to a full wrap that I could use to show a customer how a vehicle could look depending on the sort of money they were prepared to pay for vehicle advertising.
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Well, they’re pushing vehicle wraps because that’s an aspect of the business the owners really want to grow.. their plan is to become the go-to company for the area where vehicle graphics are concerned.
We’ve done a couple dozen wraps now, from cars to trucks to vans to trailers, etc. varying from small cut vinyl jobs to half-wraps to full wraps… but for some reason they don’t seem to use that portfolio as their main sales tool. We spend hours coming up with unique custom designs for *prospective* clients, with no money down. It seems like an incredible waste to me, but if that’s how it works then so be it. I just wanted to hear some input from you guys before I let the frustration get the better of me. 🙁
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Your business processes need to be worked on.
There are good articles in the first edition of the vehicle wraps magazine.
Your shouldn’t be designing anything until a deposit has been paid for.
The moment you start giving things to your client they will expect it is the norm. We used to do this and its amazing to look back now to see what our client based looked like as opposed to now. Good clients realise design is what makes the wrap work. The installation printing is the process to communicate what the design is.
If your company is basing selling vehicle wraps based on the vinyl used, installation techniques and so forth you won’t succeed in being the goto company in your area.
You need to sell vehicle wraps as a solution to problems people are having. If and when you can achieve this you will be successful.
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My opinion (for what it is worth) is why bother trying to push vehicles wraps? By their very nature they are very time consuming and consequently cost much more (but are not necessarily any more profitable). My approach would be (as Martin has already stated) to suggest a solution in keeping with your clients budget and expectations. There’s no point in trying to sell an expensive wrap to Joe the plumber who wants a cheap advert for his van. Yes there are clients who will pay for something more unique and upmarket as a vehicle wrap – but there is no point in trying to persuade everyone to go down this route when you can make as much profit in supplying their needs in other (less time consuming) methods of signing vans.
I’m beginning to think that vehicle wrapping is "the emperors new clothes" – yes it has it’s place, but it’s not the be all and end all. When it comes to running a small sign business that needs to make a profit to survive, there are easier ways of making a living than vehicle wrapping.
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