1.)  What can you do for me?
2.)  Are the leads full of 'bottom feeders' shopping price?
3.)  You have me! How much is this going to cost?
4.)  Is there a free trial?
5.)  Why charge every two weeks instead of monthly?
6.)  When I sign up, how will this look/work?
7.)  Who in my company should receive the emails?
8.)  Do I need to quote every job?
9.)  I only care about business within (x radius) of my shop, can you help?
10.)  Do you use these bids for your own purposes?
11.)  Then you would surely make more money by becoming brokers?
12.)  Where are all of these leads coming from?
13.)  Where (geographically) do your bids come from?
14.)  How many members do you have from _____?
15.)  Any last tips?
16.)  My answer isn't here...

1.)  What can you do for me?

We let you know who is buying what right now.

With geographic barriers removed, you can instantly begin conversations with customers you would have never known about .

In essence, we help you sell printing by supplementing your marketing efforts/sales-staff with great leads.
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2.)  Are the leads full of 'bottom feeders' shopping price?

This question was unexpected when we set out a few years ago, unfortunately the concern is common. Here is our definition and a visual so that we can be on the same page:

To us, 'bottom feeders' are buyers who care only about getting the lowest price. Zero concern for quality or a potential relationship. We see the print buying market as 3 core segments:

Magenta, the 'bottom feeders' bring a poor experience for everyone involved. We have no problem letting the vistaprints of the industry funnel them in.

Yellow we found early on was a tough nut to crack. One part being relationships most often a decade+ old, where buyers send all work to their friend/family - regardless of price/right fit. The other made up of professional print buyers/brokers; also very focused on price normally requiring higher quality work.

With those two segments out of the mix, all of our focus and energy goes into cyan. These are the displaced relationships (from all the mergers/closings the past few years), a large portion are first time buyers (the number of small business started on a daily basis is astounding), and many non-profits / associations / agencies who use the service for their custom jobs.

Most buyers find the truth in "Quality, Service, Price - Pick Two", and price is not always one of them as many seem to immediately fear...


EDIT: With the recent economic downturn, we have seen an increase in leads from the yellow and magenta segments (though not due to any effort on our part).

We suspect that the yellows are now being held more accountable for their funds, and likely (with the many early retirements) a younger more 'tech savvy' generation coming into power here as well.

The magenta crowd we are unsure about. One speculation is that many who were just getting by as bottom feeders now NEED things to work so they are shifting an importance to quality?

We have also seen an influx of bids from within the industry itself as more printers are looking to farm out work.
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3.)  You have me! How much is this going to cost?

Our standard plan is a recurring $99 charge which deducts from your card every 14 days.

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4.)  Is there a free trial?

No. The service is of very high value at an exceptionally low price. Just a few jobs a year (or even 1 or 2 that turn into an ongoing relationship) easily pay for the service, where we feel it becomes a no-brainer for most companies.
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5.)  Why charge every two weeks instead of monthly?

Early on we found that being in front of the owner/controller/book keeper in a frequent and consistent manor lead to fewer inquiries as to who we are and why we billed the card. Additionally - this frequency allows our automated procedures to quickly deal with any potential errors (full/expiring cards, etc).
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6.)  When I sign up, how will this look/work?

For an example, let's say you selected these categories on the signup form:

Below, in a screenshot from the overall bid flow (in an Outlook 2007 folder), you will see how only a portion of the bids (circled in red are the categories aligning to the signup for example above) will actually be sent to you.:

Upon opening the top bid, here is how the email appears (removed sections only for this image):

As a courtesy to you, we keep important information on top for quick decisions. If a bid warrants follow-up, simply call or email the lead directly via their contact information at the bottom of the email.
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7.)  Who in my company should receive the emails?

This is totally up to you - we have heard success stories from all spectrums. Top sales person taking it and doubling their numbers; new/under achieving employee using it to carve out their niche; estimator taking it on directly; etc. I have also heard that many owners receive, quickly delete any poor fitting time wasters, and then delegate the rest accordingly.
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8.)  Do I need to quote every job?

Please don't! We want you to be as successful as possible, and in our minds one of the pros is being able to freely say no. Sometimes local friends/relationships/etc may have you feeling obligated to spend the time/energy of quoting on a job you know is a poor fit for your shop. The buyer has no idea who their specs are being seen by, so no follow-up obligation should be felt.

Our sense is that you should know (or learn) what your equipment/services do best and make your money pursuing those customers. Then open up a little, and be more aggressive with your pricing when you foresee open time on your presses - or when you sense future ROI (add on services, recurring work, nice relationship fit, etc).
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9.)  I only care about business within (x radius) of my shop, can you help?

Even though mailing services have mostly flattened the landscape (a pdf from Your Town, USA being the same as a pdf from Any Town, USA), and the majority of bidders not looking for a specific location, we do realize some can only serve their immediate vicinity.

That said, the subject line does give the state of the job for quick decision making - but it may simply be a case where we are not a good fit for one another...
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10.)  Do you use these bids for your own purposes?

Absolutely not! We don't have equipment, we are not brokers, and there are no 'favorites' getting freebie bids. We have simply learned how to bring in high quality bids, and this is the method we have chosen to monetize/distribute them.
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11.)  Then you would surely make more money by becoming brokers?

You are probably right, but we enjoy what we do and only have so much time in a day. We choose to focus on quantity and quality, instead of the stress and micro-managing which we assume brokering would carry.
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12.)  Where are all of these leads coming from?

Sorry, we are unwilling to share any specifics... Simply put, several individuals here are very accomplished in online and offline marketing.
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13.)  Where (geographically) do your bids come from?

This can vary heavily throughout the year. For an example though, here are the numbers from last quarter's bids (based on Time Zone):

28.7% PST
6.2% MST
21.5% CST
43.6% EST
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14.)  How many members do you have from _____?

Probably fewer than you think. We strive to keep a balance. Both for the buyer (so they are not overwhelmed with emails or phone calls) - and to maintain the quality of the bids for you, the Printer. In our opinion a bid begins to lose its value if it becomes to diluted within a larger printer group.

We have no problem turning down a sign up if we feel we have to many printers (or if one state became to 'heavy'). And we definitely do not allow any foreign companies! (We also let 2 members go where we found they were outsourcing to chinese gangrun solutions).

We are successful by your success, and we also care about the buyer having a pleasant experience.
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15.)  Any last tips?

Sure!

When you sign up, make sure you add us to your safe list so bids don't sneak into your junk folder.

Consider setting up a specific folder (and a corresponding filter) so that all bids automatically go to one place (I know around here we always look for ways to make things faster and easier).

We realize there is a bit of a learning curve with each new marketing channel, but look for reasons to delete a bid (especially in the beginning while you learn how to be more efficient). Know what you do best and focus on those bids before you start to expand your attempts. No need to waste time/energy becoming "quote boy" or "quote girl".
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16.)  My answer isn't here...

Please email or call!

Support@YourPrintRep.com or 1-800-980-0737
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