estimates

robertwarren

New Member
Good day fellas,
I was wondering if it is common to leave the written proposals for residential work when the potential customer isn't home. I just ran in
to that this morning. The person called me from work. I realize it would be a lot harder to upsale not being face to face. I was just wondering if some of you guys leave them like taped to the front door if that's what they want and maybe do a follow up call if you
don't hear from them. Also what is a good amount of time to make the proposal good for. Thanks for your help!!
 

Don.EMS

New Member
Most of my esimates I send through the mail. I have left them attached to the front door if requested but mostly mail.
 

chirobob

New Member
I like to call them and after I've been to the site go through it with them. I feel most times if I do this I will generally get the go ahead there and then. If I left a piece of paper they wouldn't feel obliged to contact me.

Robert, I would follow up with a phone call to see if the customer understood and you could go through it with them and negotiate if need be. I always allow a little extra in the price for this.
 

Bob Gates

New Member
I personally like to meet potential cutomers face to face...I show up well groomed, clean clothes etc. Engage in conversation about house, dog, cat, flowers, whatever...all the time scoping out the job...picking up bits of information about what their concerns are..Letting them "see" my personality..I know this is not possible at all times...but it works well for me as I get a high closing rate with this method...leaving bids in the door etc..my closing rate goes down..but you gotta do what the situation calls for and hope for the best...
 

jon chapman

New Member
Ive done it both ways, face to face and leaving the estimates. Sometimes one works and the other doesnt and then vice versa. Lately Im losing a lot of bids, and cant figure out why. I was landing about 50% but now im down to 10-20%. I dont usually ask the home owner but will have to start. I havnt changed the way I do anything, but I did lower prices a little.

need to get something going soon! Wifes begining to nag.
 

Mathew Johnson

New Member
I have a policy that I mail all quotes to customers. The majority of bids that I have lost in the past have been quotes that I gave on the first visit. I tell the customer that to qive them the best price that I can, I review my notes and get an accurate picture of the chemical and time usage. I think they appreciate a well thought out bid... and I write up a comprehensive bid proposal and description of work with items included as "pretreat all vegatation prior to chemical application to house". They do like the attention to detail noted.
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
I usually leave my bids at the property with one of my fliers, other marketing material and one of my magnetic business cards. We always call the cleint the following day to see if they have any questions... Not to push for a sale. I also want to make sure that one of the other companies their getting an estimate from didn't take our estimate off the door and leave theirs in it's place. In my opinion people want their estimate now, they don't want to wait for the mail to arrive and if I have to go to my office to think about the job, chemical usage ect.. they might think I don't have much experiance if I have to take my time giving them a simple estimate. I price my jobs by the square foot depending on if it's elevated, stained, bad condition, ,railings, special railings or layout, lattice and a few other factors. I've got plenty of experiance to bid the job right then and there and if "they" push to sign a contract with them. As a rule, I don't ask a client to sign a contract with me on the spot. In fact, I tell them to take their time and let me know if they have any questions. I also refer them to my website so they can see what others say about my work, see pictures of it and also the other services we provide. I don't believe in high or even medium pressure sales.
 

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