4 ms·

business cards punch-down patch pannels "call for quote"

jacquesm 7y ago
Call for quote to me spells 'go away'. If I have to call for a quote you are (1) going to overcharge me and (2) are afraid that your competitors can beat your price and/or (3) harass me for months afterwards with 'follow up' that I have no desire for.
- cj 7y ago
  > Call for quote to me spells 'go away'. There are many cases where this is by design. I was recently in the market for a new couch. I walked into a neighborhood furniture store, and I began looking around the showroom confused why there were no price tags on any of the furniture ("ask for the price"). A minute later, the sales person approached me and said "Welcome! [...] Our prices start at $4500 for a lovely sectional. Our store never has sale prices and we don't negotiate price. Our couches are custom order and are delivered 8-12 weeks from the time of purchase. May I take you around the showroom?" Since I was looking for something delivered next week (at a lower price), I walked out of the store happy that the sales person was so upfront. Some businesses do not want you as a customer, and use techniques like "Call us for a quote" to weed out customers they know won't buy. Also, some products are inherently difficult to give upfront pricing for before understanding more parameters of the purchase. Edit: This is especially true of B2B SaaS. A significant number of leads we receive request custom integrations between our internal systems and the customer's internal systems as part of their purchase. In these cases, it's literally impossible to give a quote without multiple calls understanding the complexity and set up cost.
  - lostcolony 7y ago
    Sure, but does it actually improve things for either side? That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic, but the customer can at least ballpark what long term operation costs will be based on any published pricing you have. I've never talked to a SaaS vendor without some idea of ongoing price, even if we're going to need upfront work that will be priced separately.
    - tomatotomato37 7y ago
      It sounds like that furniture business is trying to gain prestige through a "If you have to ask you can't afford it" model, which can be a viable strategy for very high end goods (though I wouldn't exactly say a ~$5000 sectional fits in that category). The big purchases in such a model make any extra time investment worthwhile versus normal retail
    - cj 7y ago
      > That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? Because there isn't a price to show. The missing detail I left out in the original comment is that the sale rep also said "We have hundreds of fabric and color options available, and we can accomodate any configuration." Sure, I guess they could post prices for the models sitting on the floor, but that price would only be for that exact configuration. The point is, the sale person wants to spend 1-2 hours working with the customer to determine their fabric preferences, then color preferences, then configuration / shape of the couch. The store does not cater to people who want the ability to walk in, point to something and say "I want that, how much?" - those people are not their customers. > For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic In the couch example, it's the same, exact "custom logic" is instead fabric, color, configuration, pull out vs. no pull out, ottoman vs no ottoman, etc. (For the record, I hate non-transparent pricing as much as anyone. Heap is an example that has been on my mind lately since we're looking at analytics solutions at our company: https://heap.io/pricing https://heap.io/pricing - it's impossible to infer the "contact us" pricing, since the only other plan they have is "Free" -- we're on their "Startup" plan for $499/mo, and I have no idea if we're being ripped off, or if that's what everyone else is paying too...)
      - Nullabillity 7y ago
        They can show a breakdown with the base cost of each module, the surcharges for the different fabric and colour options, and a price example for the display unit. It's not rocket surgery, IKEA manages to do this just fine.[0] [0]: https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/ https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/
ghaff 7y ago
Business cards are definitely not obsolete. I don't receive and give them out as consistently as I used to but they're still common as a way to remember people and maybe make a quick note.
- lostcolony 7y ago
  I've had two people ask me for a business card in 10 years. I don't even look to have them made any more.
  - ghaff 7y ago
    I'm sure it depends on the job. I regularly use them at customer and partner events and as a way to remember someone/make a quick note at an event. I do use them a lot less consistently than in years past but I still carry them.

Call for quote to me spells 'go away'. If I have to call for a quote you are (1) going to overcharge me and (2) are afraid that your competitors can beat your price and/or (3) harass me for months afterwards with 'follow up' that I have no desire for.

cj 7y ago
> Call for quote to me spells 'go away'. There are many cases where this is by design. I was recently in the market for a new couch. I walked into a neighborhood furniture store, and I began looking around the showroom confused why there were no price tags on any of the furniture ("ask for the price"). A minute later, the sales person approached me and said "Welcome! [...] Our prices start at $4500 for a lovely sectional. Our store never has sale prices and we don't negotiate price. Our couches are custom order and are delivered 8-12 weeks from the time of purchase. May I take you around the showroom?" Since I was looking for something delivered next week (at a lower price), I walked out of the store happy that the sales person was so upfront. Some businesses do not want you as a customer, and use techniques like "Call us for a quote" to weed out customers they know won't buy. Also, some products are inherently difficult to give upfront pricing for before understanding more parameters of the purchase. Edit: This is especially true of B2B SaaS. A significant number of leads we receive request custom integrations between our internal systems and the customer's internal systems as part of their purchase. In these cases, it's literally impossible to give a quote without multiple calls understanding the complexity and set up cost.
- lostcolony 7y ago
  Sure, but does it actually improve things for either side? That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic, but the customer can at least ballpark what long term operation costs will be based on any published pricing you have. I've never talked to a SaaS vendor without some idea of ongoing price, even if we're going to need upfront work that will be priced separately.
  - tomatotomato37 7y ago
    It sounds like that furniture business is trying to gain prestige through a "If you have to ask you can't afford it" model, which can be a viable strategy for very high end goods (though I wouldn't exactly say a ~$5000 sectional fits in that category). The big purchases in such a model make any extra time investment worthwhile versus normal retail
  - cj 7y ago
    > That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? Because there isn't a price to show. The missing detail I left out in the original comment is that the sale rep also said "We have hundreds of fabric and color options available, and we can accomodate any configuration." Sure, I guess they could post prices for the models sitting on the floor, but that price would only be for that exact configuration. The point is, the sale person wants to spend 1-2 hours working with the customer to determine their fabric preferences, then color preferences, then configuration / shape of the couch. The store does not cater to people who want the ability to walk in, point to something and say "I want that, how much?" - those people are not their customers. > For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic In the couch example, it's the same, exact "custom logic" is instead fabric, color, configuration, pull out vs. no pull out, ottoman vs no ottoman, etc. (For the record, I hate non-transparent pricing as much as anyone. Heap is an example that has been on my mind lately since we're looking at analytics solutions at our company: https://heap.io/pricing https://heap.io/pricing - it's impossible to infer the "contact us" pricing, since the only other plan they have is "Free" -- we're on their "Startup" plan for $499/mo, and I have no idea if we're being ripped off, or if that's what everyone else is paying too...)
    - Nullabillity 7y ago
      They can show a breakdown with the base cost of each module, the surcharges for the different fabric and colour options, and a price example for the display unit. It's not rocket surgery, IKEA manages to do this just fine.[0] [0]: https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/ https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/

ghaff 7y ago

Business cards are definitely not obsolete. I don't receive and give them out as consistently as I used to but they're still common as a way to remember people and maybe make a quick note.

lostcolony 7y ago
I've had two people ask me for a business card in 10 years. I don't even look to have them made any more.
- ghaff 7y ago
  I'm sure it depends on the job. I regularly use them at customer and partner events and as a way to remember someone/make a quick note at an event. I do use them a lot less consistently than in years past but I still carry them.