Nominees

Dan Sleezer Its an honor to even be considered.  I've enjoyed the group for the last year and I realize there are a lot of people working behind the scenes to make it work and if I can help in anyway, I will.

Dave Crissman I've served on the board before and enjoyed it.  Anybody that knows me knows I like to shake things up.  For instance, even though I liked the breakfast at TCE, you can't hold a meeting there.  I have been annoyed by the complaints with no offers of solutions.  My offering up my location for our meetings is a solution.  This is the kind of thing I can bring to the board.  It is not that I am not busy.  I love MABE and what his has done for me.  It is not the same group is was.  We evolve.  I want to help.

Erin La Grassa I really enjoy it as well.  I do think it is important to continue talking about business and help each other out.  I would love to be on the board and think it will be a lot of fun.

Meeting Location
Gus Dekavallas announced that he found a new meeting place for us.  Skip & Jan's (Elliot & Priest in Tempe).  They are offering a full breakfast at $6 to include tip.  We can have the space as long as we want and we can set it up anyway we want (they don't open for breakfast). 

Question of the Day
"Have you cut your fees to accommodate clients or have your suppliers cut costs to help you?"

•  Dave Crissman - I have tried that over the last year and it was disastrous.  It did not increase volume.  The one thing I learned, if you can't reduce your fixed costs and COGS, you can't reduce your price.
• Erin La Grassa - Everyone wants "cheaper" these days.  So now we offer both the cheaper products and high-end.  We did a 10% off sale and it was very successful.
• Dave Lathrop - I do include some extra step to add more value to clients so in a way I guess it is a discount.
• Althea Bussert - A couple of my suppliers are offering to go pickup whereas before they would charge for it.  I've been finding out lately that the clients are "low balling".  It's very frustrating because you know what you can do for them and they go and do that.
• Gus Dekavallas - In my business you can't discount.  It is what it is.  A good friend of his said he never put his product on sale because then they come to expect it.  If you give a value product they will buy it.
• Nick Mawrenko - If lowering your price gets you a bigger piece of the pie than it makes sense. 
• Bill LaLonde - Many of us here are luxury items.  People will hold off on it.  In the last year we have downsized and cutback on office help.  Things like that to cut costs because people just are not using our services right now.  Our suppliers have not lowered their prices.  Our subcontractors have not raised their prices.  We can't lower our prices.  There are people at there working under cost and you the problem is people come to expect it.
• Steve Chilton - I am finding that if you don't close at the initial visit you won't get the job.  I try to get a good idea of what they want on the phone and then do the research to get the right price of getting the job finished using different products. 
• Althea Bussert - I have been told my prices were not where they should be so I haven't lowered them and I won't lower them.
• Dave Crissman - What did we do when nobody new us?
• Jana Greene - We do charge a consultation fee to weed out the lookie-loos.  We only charge $25 for a wedding consult but it works.  Charge enough to cover your time (I don't).  I hate sales and don't have them.  Retailers should never have sales.  Price your product fairly and leave it.
• Sandro Menasci - I oftentimes discount items for regular clients and they don't even realize it.  The problem is that people simply don't have the money to pay it.  I also get paid for my diagnostic (consult).  People that shop around lose out.  Clients that go ahead with the repair will see the discounted labor.
• James Clark - I present the value of the company.  Things that don't cost me money, maybe just a little time, like doing the runner for free.  They appreciate it and tell their friends.  They feel like they are getting more than they are paying for.  I document it and let them know how much they are saving.  It is working for me.
• Chris Curran - A lot of people in this room sell above market.  And I will pay it!  I know I am getting value.  I can't believe some of you don't charge more for what you do.  The service is THAT good.  I have found in my own business that there is a difference between busy and profitability.  I get scared when I am not busy.  If you doubled your rates and did one job vs. doing two jobs at the current rate, how does that affect your profitability?  People that shop me coming in are never happy walking out, even with a check in hand.
• Barbara Kollman - I think Althea should charge a base consultation fee for a set number of hours.  It should be double your normal rate.  If you price yourself cheap as a professional, people don't know they are getting a deal.  I was shocked to find that others in my profession charge a lot more but I don't have the guts to raise my rates. 
• Joe Zingale - The big thing a lot of us are facing is the incredible amount of discount marketing that is happening.  It is the norm right now.  Business is dynamic.  There are innovative things you can do to make yourself attractive to your customers.  My goal is to be in business when things turn around because that is when you are going to make your money.
• Dave Lathrop - Are you charging what you think you are worth or what the market says you are worth? 
• Greg Stewart - Don't worry about what your pricing is because the government is going to dictate it for us. 

Thank You's
Thank you to Dave Crissman and Bob Becker for the facility and tables for today's meeting.  And thank you to Gus Dekavallas for the meeting location lead.