"If it were mine..."

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Dave

Dave

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Posts
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Loc
Edwardsburg, MI
This thread was prompted by Paul N's thread about steering a customer away from using MG and a mat on a painting.

Quite often I will use the phrase at the design counter... "If it were mine I would...". I find it a very personable and honest phrase that helps a customer decide on a design. After all, our customers consider us the "experts" most of the time and are most often looking for our direct input and guidance with their piece.


What other successful phrases do you use that you find help speed along the design process?

:beer:
 
When choosing between more than one mat and the customer seems a little lost I joke that "It's kind of like going to the optometrist." And then I switch out the samples quickly and ask "Better or Worse?"

Basically, I'm trying to engage their instincts, because the analytical mind is so terrified of making a mistake that they can't make a decision at all. The lighthearted optometrist thing does the trick every time.
 
I use the phrase "If it were mine I would..." too.

And when I use that, I really give my honest opinion.

The two I use the most is...

"What did you have in mind"?

"What is the look you are going for"?

Sometimes you can't get people to say what it is they want besides "I want to get this framed".

But lastly the phrase I try to always use is...

"And how would you like to pay for that"?
 
Jerry Ervin said:
The two I use the most is...

"What did you have in mind"?

"What is the look you are going for"?
Click to expand...

The answer to those questions in my shop is always,
"inexpensive." I don't ask open ended questions like this.

I do use "It this were mine..."
 
Kirstie said:
The answer to those questions in my shop is always,
"inexpensive." I don't ask open ended questions like this.

I do use "It this were mine..."
Click to expand...

Kirstie - ditto, but you must have more sophisticated customers than me ...mine would say "CHEAP".
 
Right, the answer to almost any question (back when I actually HAD customers) seems to be "I don't want to spend a lot of money."

Me: "What room will this be going in?"
Customer: "I don't want to spend a lot of money."

Me: "This is interesting, who is the artist?"
Customer: "I don't want to spend a lot of money."

Me: "How is your house decorated?"
Customer: "I don't want to spend a lot of money."
 
You too funny, Paul!

:p

If someone says they "...don't want to spend a lot of money", I usually say in jest, "We'll see if we can keep it under $ 5000.00". Everybody chuckles and we get on with it.

:D
 
'If I were framing it to sell' is one I often use.

It works sometimes because the customer (wrongly) thinks 'it' is something you feel is so nice that you would like to have it for sale.
 
I have asked "are you a billionaire?" So far the answer is no, but if the answer is ever yes, I'll have to ask if they are single, or have a sister.
 
Your neighbor Jan was in here and she went with the closed corner......

.... oh, I KNOW. Yes but it's going to look gorgeous. She did get the museum glass yes, but we went with a joined liner, poor thing is going to have seams.....

.... Ok, well that'll be closed corner, museum glass, and fabric liner with no seams. Your daughter will love the Hannah Montana poster. Seeya in a month! I'll tell Jan you said "oh hai!"
 
"If it were mine..."
then I tag it with:
"But you're the one who's going to have to look at it all the time, so its really up to you. But I really like the closed corner, hand water guilded, 18 compo layer authentic Louis XVI frame with Museum Glass, solid linen liner, sunk it a hand-wrapped silk mat base with spacers, all using our best conservation methods."

(Ok, I get a little carried away sometimes. But really made that Hannah Montana poster sing!)
 
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