Top 5 Reasons Why I Collect Copier & MFP Proposals

I was asked the other day by one of the new reps in the office why I always ask for a copy of my competitors proposals.  The first thing that came to mind was... this would be an awesome topic for my blog!  Amazing where the ideas come from and I'd like to give thanx to that person in my office. 

Here's my top five reasons for collecting quotes and proposal

• Winning:  It's the feeling of accomplishment when you come back in the office with not only the order but a copy of the other(s) proposal.
• The Need to Know who my competition is and how they presented their information, sometimes you never get to meet with Mr. or Mrs. Right until the very end. 
• The Need to Know how my competition presented their pricing, were they just quoting leasing, did they have purchase prices, were they presenting a professional financial proposal or just winging it with a vague MS word proposal.
• Why did I win, did I win on price, did I win with professionalisum, did I have a better solution or did they just like me better :). You always need to ask yourself WHY I won the dealer or WHY I lost the deal.
• Knowedge is the key to winning right, if I run up against them again I may have been able to see some weaknesses in their quote/proposal or something they were vague on.

Something else I try to use is to not only get a copy of the proposal but to ask if they have a copy of the order form.  If you can get one of these always turn to the terms and conditions, you may be able to pick something out that will help you in future deals. I've said this before, basically we're all stealing business from each other. I get some of your business and you get some of mine, hopefully I'll get more of your than you get of mine.  On a recent order form that I found out that a competitor actually had a clause in their term and conditions that allowed them to charge "x" amount for scans if they determined this was appropriate for the account.  How much fuel surcharges, and additional training.  All of these can be found in either the proposals or the order forms.

Usually I keep these proposals for our Premium Members on the Print4Pay Hotel forums. However, I like to share 5 of them with anyone who wants them.  Just go here and register for the forums (it's FREE) and I'll send you a link for these five proposals.

Xerox workcentre 7125_Xerox workcentre 7535_ ColorQube 9301
2 bizhub950's & 1 bizhub 552
pricing on the street for Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE 4051
Xerox school proposal for 36 units
"Pricing on the Street" for Ricoh mpc5502A

-=Good Selling=-