I think this has been a good thread, a few different approaches to gaining & keeping work. It's often beneficial IMO to thrash out (so to speak) a few oppinions, then most people will be able to relate to one or the other. We could spend all day picking each others approaches apart but for me the main points are made.
Who's right between me & davo? both of us

For davo with a background in sales & equiped with flawless sales patter with the ability for it to just roll off his tongue, then i dare to say he would be quite convincing to the customer.

As for others, this could be a dangerous strategy. Get the patter wrong & it could well spell disaster leaving you with a red face & a ringing in your ear.

Sometimes it's a mix of marketing techniques, for me the davo style is more for one off jobs or less frequent/larger work & the macmac style for regular work, the work you need to rely on month in month out where customer loyalty & relations is paramount & will, on it's own create more work.
Think we've all put some good points across, IMO marketing (if you want to call it that) in this job is quite different to other trades/products for many reasons & that has to be born in mind when trying to make a living at this game.
Me & Davo obviousley don't see eye to eye on marketing 100%, However i have still taken elements of his posts that i may well use in the future, so, at least i have some benefit from this thread, which is what these little (soap operas

) are good for.
Respect

Tony