Lpc2000

Hello Tom,

> >
> It depends on your credibility, I have been consulting for over ten 
> years and I have no trouble getting samples.  The Field Reps know me, I 
> talk the talk and I have clients to backup my requests.  What also
helps 
> me is that I've been around the industry and was working doing 
> development for a company for eight years before that.
> 

Same here. 20+ years in the biz with about half of that as a
consultant. Even ran a division for years. The problem is that reps
are often still in the 20th century and think that the business is
still local. It isn't.

Even by the time I finish a design neither I nor my client typically
know where it's going to be produced. Because it then goes out to bid.
Mostly it ends up in China. Reps often don't understand that and think
that if they support me the revenue also will have to be in 'their'
region. Sorry, but that's not how things work anymore. In fact, they
rarely did work that way with my designs even in the early 90's. Also,
the usual scenario is that neither I nor my client by anything in
quantities. The contract manufacturer does, and they do that wherever
they may be located.


> If you cannot get samples, then it is time to have a heart-to-heart
with 
> the Field Rep..  Invite him to stop by your place when they are in the 
> area and have some coffee.  Word gets around who is the real deal.  If 
> there is a future question of your qualifications, you can refer
them to 
> some Rep you've worked with in the past.
> 

Oh, I do that. Except that it isn't coffee these days but latte ;-)

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/