Model Builders Inc Blog

5 reasons when buying a custom model or prototype to pay for quality

Posted by Hal Chaffee on Sun, Jun 15, 2014 @ 10:24 PM

You should be worried about buying a custom model or prototype based on a lowest-cost bid as we pointed out in our last blog.  Here are five reasons to pay a little more for quality and get a lot more in return.

1. Quality sells.

The impact and quality of a model or prototype built with superior materials or design may lead to far greater sales than the incremental cost of say 10 percent over the lowest quote. That's value.

 GM LIRR  front rt

1/24 scale brass locomotive model - exterior and interior

If a model or prototype is 25 percent or more effective in generating leads than say a quote that costs 10 percent less it is more cost effective. Our experience is that the extra expense is often the difference between a dull model and one that grabs the viewer’s attention. In the case of the 36" long locomotive model pictured above it was also the difference in a more accurate and durable model that we built primarily out of brass instead of plastic.

GM LIRR equip rack resized 600Internal equipment rack prior to painting. Primarily brass construction

The entire exterior of the locomotive body and most of the internal equipment is brass construction with strong silver soldered weld joints .  The model is then very durable and the thickness of the parts is in scale.

2. A model is your reputation - don't mess it up to save a few dollars.

It takes a long time to build up a corporate reputation and a short time to knock it down if you don't meet the expectations of your client or potential client. Put your best model forward.

3. A partnership with a good model maker can raise quality exponentially.

Commissioning a prototype can be a learning experience that simultaneously represents and improves your idea when working with a good model maker.

The best model makers will spend when needed up to a third or more of their time doing research for or with you. For example the U.S. Navy's policy is not to provide drawings on currently commissioned ships. All is well if accuracy is not your goal or if you can do the research required for accuracy. One of Model Builders, Inc's strengths is our exceptional research and commitment to accuracy when it counts. Some of our competitors have had their models rejected by their clients who liked their price but not the inaccurate results.

4. Quality pays, but quality is not free.

Even one step up from the lowest bid can make a big difference in quality. The marginal difference may go to the more talented and experienced staff, more precise tools, more durable and realistic materials, and safer shipping containers, for example. When you commission one model in anticipation of multiple versions later on, buying quality also prevents having to start over later with a different company if the first model is unsatisfactory.

5. The lowest bid often means there is little room for innovation or details that can make a big impact in the final look of the model or prototype.

Montpelier garden

The above picture is of a finely detailed 1:500 scale model garden that is only 5" X 7". The two white lions on the right in the garden are 1/2" long. The holes are only 1/16" diameter for lighted fiber optic cable ends to identify the area by pushing a button. This model type of finely detailed model making takes time and special artistic skill.

Model Builders, Inc. is known for helping industrial designers, manufacturers, institutions and individuals go from idea to reality. Take the next step by contacting us at Model Builders, Inc., 773-586-6500 or info@modelbuilders.net .

Tags: aviation models, construction equipment models, railroad equipment model, plant layout model, architectural model, model, architectural models, product cutaway, boat models, product model, prototype, model maker, prototypes, product models, airplane models, topographic model, aerospace models, prototype model

Why sales kits with cutaway products increase sales.

Posted by Hal Chaffee on Thu, Jun 06, 2013 @ 02:17 PM

When you are selling an industrial product like a battery, electric winch, pump or valve that has superior features and materials inside the most important tool your salesforce can have is often a product that is cutaway to show those advantages and exactly how it works. The product  should be small and light enough for a salesperson to carry in a carrying case.

Battery cutaway

 Forklift cutaway with sales case

Forklift battery cutaway with sales case

This battery cutaway uses mostly real parts but was made much lighter by using a foam block behind the first set of positive and negative grids. The paste in the real grids is toxic so colored bondo in orange or gray was used and a matte finish created to resemble the real paste. The grid is real but the connector at the top of the grid is plastic to help reduce the weight of this battery cutaway.

Seeing the product with a cutaway showing its advantages means believing them. The black top, white housing, grid and battery strap are all real parts. Part of the battery strap on the top is cutaway so you can see the copper inside. The black label on the side lists three benefits and three technologies that help to reinforce the sales message.

This battery sales kit was so effective in generating sales that the company ordered additional cutaways of some of their other battery lines for their sales people.

Battery Cell Cutaway resized 600

 Battery cell prototype cutaway with sales case

This lithium battery cell fits into a small sales case.  The wood stand is easily removed and the battery cell slips down vertically into the stand. Weight, watt hours and other sales information is silk screened on the front of the battery. With the cutaway view the story of how it works can explained by showing the various sections inside.

Superwinch Cutaway resized 600

 Superwinch cutaway sales kit

Here a potential customer can see how this winch works from the inside out as well as see the quality of the materials, mechanisms and construction. If  a potential customer can't see that inside difference of the SUPERWICH first hand they may be more likely to buy a competitors product that is less expensive. Sales kits with a cutaway product  are often the closer that makes the sale.

Aircraft oil pump with clear housing

aircraft oil pump with sales case

Aircraft oil pump model with sales case

This full size jet aircraft oil pump model with a clear housing and translucent parts (metal parts in the real pump) shows clean or dirty oil and a separator part (each in one of three different colors). The aluminum base is 12" wide X 16" long. The rugged ATA style carrying case can also be used for domestic or international shipping.

A sales kit with a cutaway product (or model of the product) will help to show how your product works, the superior materials it is made of and other internal sales features. Take the next step by contacting us at Model Builders, Inc., 773.586.6500 or info@modelbuilders.net .

 

Tags: sales kit, sales kits, product cutaway, product model, training aids, model builders, model maker, model makers, training aid, product models, model builder, product cutaways

How to create a trade show exhibit that sells

Posted by Hal Chaffee on Tue, Jun 19, 2012 @ 09:06 PM

To create a trade show exhibit that sells, focus on solving these three basic problems:

Problem 1: How do you get the attention of your highest potential buyers?

Answer: Use a concise headline in the most easily seen part of the exhibit - put it up high, make it big, light it up. Repeat the headline elsewhere in the exhibit. Use the company name nearby. 

Focus the headline on a specific product, or service and make a strong benefit promise. For example, Uni-tek's headline is "Broken Taps Removed Fast" in large, flood-lit lettering. Sharp focus like this attracts people who want what you have to offer.

You have five seconds to attract the attention of potential buyers and less than five minutes to develop interest. 

Problem 2: How do you develop detailed product interest?

millennium ball model

Photo: A 30" diameter model of the Millennium ball drops slowly a few times a day in synch with a video countdown at this 50' trade show booth for Philips light bulbs, drawing attention to the  key product benefits on the billboards.

Answer: Highlight the product. Use a sales message with the most important features and benefits. Show your product or service in action. Invite the potential client to participate in a product demonstration.

Remember the product is the star. Consider a cutaway of your product to highlight how it works.  Make a small product larger with a realistic larger-scale model as the center of attention in the booth, like the 5' high spark plug Bosch used. For a large product like a locomotive, aircraft, or mining truck, feature a smaller-scale model that fits in the trade show booth. Consider adding mechanical movement or chase lights to show the sequence of how the product works.

The sales message should be simple and dramatic.  A video or exhibit backwall with a few pictures and copy can tell your story quickly and effectively. Help the booth staff tell the product story with a few key visual aids that highlight the product's most important features and benefits.

Problem 3: How do you follow up with the potential buyer?

Business card drop box 

 Photo: Business card drop box (slot) in a 2X scale prop model of a new medical device.

 Answer: Often several potential buyers show up at a trade show exhibit at the same time.  A business card drop box offers a quick way to get a potential buyer's business card even when exhibit staff is busy with someone else. Provide blank name/address cards, too, and pens to make it easy to fill them out. Consider adding a question or two on the blank card to help qualify the prospect as a potential buyer.

If the objective is to make an appointment with the potential buyer for a followup call, include a graphic that invites the visitor to sign up for a product demonstration. Include a large appointment book to make it easy.

Another option is to integrate a private area or separate office into the exhibit area as a place to close a sale, show more detailed product options, etc.

One technique to close sales is use of show specials: offer a lower price for orders at the show only, making the invitation highly visible.

To wrap up the planning process, ask yourself:

  • Did we pinpoint the product and sales message in the headline?
  • Did we dramatize the product for immediate impact?
  • Is the exhibit uncluttered and geared to a single objective?

If yes, then you are on your way to having an effective exhibit. If you have any questions or would like to discuss exhibit design, a cutaway of your product, a product model, or a larger or smaller than life model contact us at Model Builders, Inc. 773-586-6500 or info@modelbuilders.net .

 

 

Tags: construction equipment models, railroad equipment model, exhibit, interactive exhibit, product cutaway, product model, engineering model, industrial scale model, trade show product models, medical models

5 ways product models can increase sales

Posted by Hal Chaffee on Fri, Apr 06, 2012 @ 12:59 PM

Product models are an investment that often pays off big by increasing product sales. Here are five ways that product models boost results.

1) Product models attract attention to sales presentations by communicating in three dimensions.  Models tell a story your client can see immediately, even without words. The visual story combined with your comments have a powerful, long-lasting impact. Perhaps my father, William H. Chaffee, a model maker for most of the 20th century, said it best: "Models enable you to visualize an idea or product in a scale you can relate to."

product model, product models

2) Product models are used to draw people into a trade show booth and start the sales conversation. They are an attention-getting focal point in the sales process.  Just changing the scale of a product can command attention.  Small objects become gigantic and large objects can become small enough to fit in a 10' wide trade show booth. A 7' high detailer motorized brush as shown in the above picture, 8' tall drill bit, a 9' long windshield wiper blade with some new features, and a 6' tall toothbrush with lighted fiber optic bristles drew heavy traffic into their exhibit booths. Ordinary products command attention when produced in an unexpected scale and their unique benefits are immediately obvious.

3) "New" is one of the most response-generating words in advertising. Models can get new products in front of customers immediately through quick fabrication for presentations at a sales meeting, trade show, or photography for public relations releases. Prior to the first production run of a new industrial pool pump, a full scale exterior model was built for a trade show to introduce the product. The model was detailed down to the surface which had a casting texture painted on it. When the original product engineers first saw the model, some of them thought the model had come straight from the production line. Without the product model the company could only have shown two dimensional photographs or drawings with less impact.

product models, product cutaways

4) Models can highlight product advantages by showing how the product works or revealing certain features. A cutaway model of a real product can show any unique feature and the quality of the materials used inside.  For example, one product model used a clear plastic housing and some internal translucent parts combined with some real parts to create a jet engine oil pump that revealed where the oil flowed and the unique parts that made it work. For another client, a 2X scale oven with 2" wide red/orange fluorescent plastic "heat arrows" inside showed the even flow of heat.

5) Closing a sale is often quicker when you use a  model. For exmple a scale model of a trade show exhibit booth can sell the client on the booth design. Clients often cannot visualize a 3-D booth design as well as the designer. A model facilitates communication and clarifies any changes to the trade show booth design in order to gain a commitment to go ahead with construction of the booth. A model quickly and clearly shows the interior design, space planning, sight lines, traffic patterns, engineering, materials, colors, signage, and the interrelationships between various elements. The model helps to answer questions and solve potential problems. It is a fast way to understand a complex project and hence shorten the sales cycle.

Done artfully and with skill, product models like those described above help increase sales. Take the next step by contacting us at Model Builders, Inc., 773.586.6500 or info@modelbuilders.net .

 

Tags: industrial scale models, sales kit, product cutaway, product model, prototype, prototype models, product models, medical models, props

Product Cutaways Tell a Story

Posted by Hal Chaffee on Thu, Feb 16, 2012 @ 08:01 PM

Every product has its own story to tell. Often the best way is with a with a cutaway. Product cutaways are a dramatic way to show how a product works or how well it is made. Manufacturers of pumps, valves, storage tanks, power tools, transmissions and engines are frequent users of cutaways so they can show unique features and present principles of operation. Superior materials and craftsmanship can also be shown. To see quality is to believe it.

pump cutaway

The use of product cutaways is not always confined to tradeshows or sales calls. Other uses are for education, in museums, sales training, engineering training, assembly training, and photos for technical manuals or advertisements. Product models are useful anywhere a three dimensional product or process needs to be explained. Cutaways have a stronger impact than an illustration. 

There are many types of product cutaways. Some are associated with equipment that is contained in a metal casting - a hand held power drill for example, or a transmission. However you shouldn't confine cutaways to just those types of equipment.

You could:

  • encase the guts of a product, such as a switch, in clear plastic so that you can watch it work.
  • build a small cutaway model of a large product such as a turbine or a large model of a small product such as a microchip.
  • construct multiple cutaways to demonstrate a process.
  • animate the cutaway with mechanical motion or sequenced lights.

The success of a cutaway depends on how well you are able to show your product story. You could have someone just cut your model apart but you should use skilled professionals to help you. Some points to consider in having cutaways made are:

  • is the product the right scale or should you have a smaller or larger cutaway made?
  • does the cutaway need to have its parts move to demonstrate how it works?
  • should hot areas be painted red and cool areas painted blue?
  • should parts be polished, plated, painted, etc. to project a quality image?
  • should there be labels on the cutaway parts?
  • is what you want to show clearly visible or should more of the casing be cut away?
  • rather than simply cutting a product in half, should you have it cut at a dramatic angle to make it more interesting?
  • should you have small cutaways made for your sales representatives to use as a focal point of their customer presentations?

If you have a dramatic product story to tell from the inside out, use a cutaway. If you would like more information about getting a product cutaway done send an email to info@modelbuilders.net .

 turbocharger cutaway

Tags: industrial scale models, sales kit, product cutaway, product model, product models, product cutaways