Estimating Archives - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

Estimating a job correctly is essential to owning and operating a print business. Over-estimate, and you risk losing the sale because you’re too expensive. Under-estimate and your bottom line suffers. This is why making sure you hit the bullseye with your estimating is so important — because everyone wins! How can you ensure a “Goldilocks” estimate every time — one where the clients say yes AND you hit your sales and profit numbers? You follow these five best practices for estimating. Best Practices for Estimating: 5 Do’s and Don’ts Don’t: Guess on Your Numbers Guessing is for board games and riddles, not for your print estimates. Estimating is not an area where you want to cut corners and base your figures on assumptions. You either need to ask prospects for the information you need yourself or invest in an estimating solution that will ensure you leave yourself enough margin with every job, big or small. Do: Ensure Accuracy You can ensure the accuracy of your estimates by taking the time to understand what the project involves. When you eliminate all of those “ballpark figures” and are able to quote precisely, you’ll be able to decide whether you want to take

Estimating has been a cornerstone in the printing industry for years. While you may think that providing your customers with an estimate is for their benefit only, in fact, estimating a job also provides you with a myriad of benefits. A good estimate: Provides efficiency Ensures accuracy Creates consistency Fosters professionalism Displays your cost/value ratio Most importantly, good estimating is the secret sauce to good sales. Estimating Supports Good Pricing Willy-nilly pricing can mean lost profits and missed opportunities. By knowing your anticipated costs before negotiating your price, you’ll have vital information to know things like the break-even point on print production, an acceptable price point, and at what point there is both zero profit and zero loss. These details are also critical when you want data on which of your print items are (or aren’t) profitable. Printing multiple orders of [blank] doesn’t mean business is good if you’re losing money on every order you accept. Good print estimating empowers your staff with the knowledge they need about where they can be aggressive and where they need to hold the line on price. What About Digital Printing? For low-margin work, estimating takes on an increasingly important role. In most situations,