giving estimates

[mas3372]

I have been thinking. Traveling from home to home to give estimates can be quite time consuming. I am trying to think of a safe and fair plan to give estimates over the phone. I think this will encourage more people to call to get an idea since they do not have to dedicate time to meet with me. An over the phone quote would be to give a fair ball park which is subject to change upon viewing the home. This will also at least get me to houses that are interested because they have accepted my ball park price. Once their if I notice heavy mold or grime, etc. they price would need to change accordingly.

I was thinking rough prices as follows.

2 story colonial $150
1 Story ranch $110
2 Story cape $125
Raised Ranches $150
*Standard size for those above
Trailer $50
Double wide $65

Add
2 Car garage $35
1 Car garage $25
Bonus rooms on houses that enlarge size $50
Clean out inside of gutters $30
Scrub outside of guters $30

2 car driveways $40
4 Car driveways $70
walkways and sidewalks 15 cents square foot
decks and patios 13 cents square foot.

My prices right now are estimates, I need to clean a few family members houses to get a feel of time and effort to better adjust them.
Just thinking that if I save time going to houses to give estimates I will be more productive. This also weeds out the people who do not want to spend the money so I don't waste my time.

this would be to give a rough price and they would be advised that if they have heavy dirt or grime or if the house has not been done in years then it would be more.

Does anyone do this or do something similar.
thanks, Mike

 

[grasshawg]

Be sure and get some before and after pictures to show future customers.

 

[PressurePros]

I'll just be blunt. I think it's a lousy idea. Remember this statement..

People shop on price when they have nothing else to base their decision upon.

You are encouraging people to shop you based on price. Every single start up company I have ever seen, in any field, try that approach is out of business. You will have little success if you think you will quote something on the phone and then try to add on addiitional services or change prices when you get to the homeonwer's property. Marketing gets you to someone's house. I would be happy to help you with the marketing aspect of a business.

I'll repost something here for you that I wrote for another board:

_____________________________________________________________

Every business owner faces the same dilemmas.


• How do I keep that phone ringing?
• How can I hire help when I am not even sure I can keep myself busy?
• Where can I spend the least amount of money and get the best return?


SELLING ON PRICE

If anyone is from the same school of thought as I, then they understand that price is only one variable in the selling of service. It is a slippery slope to start undercutting and seling on price. Here are some things I have read on here and various BBS's.

"If you tried to get those prices down here, you'd get laughed at."

"All people are interested in around here is the price"

"Those HOA's.. it's always just about price"

"I'm competing against guys that advertise $99 house washes, what am I supposed to do?"

"The Yellow Pages suck, it's just a bunch of cheap people calling for the best price"

These are alll valid concerns but to a large degree, they are all false. Sure, people consider price when making a decision but not merely in the way you may think. The largest budget consideration for a consumer is not whether or not you are the most expensive, it's whether or not they think they can afford the service. Their answer is always "no". You're answer should be "you can't afford not to". More on selling the value of a service later.


If you are skimming this article, read this next line and paragraph a couple of times.

_____________________________________________

People shop on price because they do not know what else to base their decision upon.



It is your responsibility through marketing and sales to educate the public. People want to be sold. They don't want to be pressured, but people get high from buying goods or a service. I can tell you from the experience of being the highest guy in my marketplace that if you take the time to educate a person as to what they should be looking for, you will get the sale. Increased sales at higher profit margins means more advertising money to hinder your competition.
______________________________________________


I have heard this statement made and it's very accurate.


"If you want to see what, where and why Joe Smith buys, see the world through Joe Smith's eyes"



Joe Smith knows not to trust contractors. Joe Smith knows that the job he gets will probably be mediocre. Joe Smith knows that regardless of the price he is going to be ripped off. Why the hell would Joe Smith want to pay me top dollar when he knows all of these things? Is it because I am a better washer? No. What I am better at is making my customer feel at ease with his purchase and delivering on everything I promise.

Mr. John Smith, do you want:

• Your initial call returned within 12 hours?
• A clean cut person in company logo'd gear to come to your home for the estimate?
• A company representative that will listen and make suggestions based upon a detailed exterior evaluation of your property?
• The presentation of professionally designed literature that outlines services along with a full portfolio of before and after exterior restoration pictures?
• Toll Free numbers with automated extensions, direct cell numbers, logo'd trucks, the right equipment to start and complete the job, polite employees that speak clear English and wear ID badges?
• A company with a customer database that allows monthly follow up with newsletters letting you know what's going on with that company, local laws governing washing your car and a discount coupon for being a loyal customer?

These things cost Mr Homeowner and he knows it. If you are targeting a higher income demographic like I have seen many people suggest, these are the things he is looking for and is willing to pay a reasonable premium for. He sleeps well at night knowing the few extra dollars he is spending on my service means far less aggravation in the future.

Some old timers or newbies that insist it's still about price and will continue to sell based upon fear of learning and implementing new ideas may eventually stagnate, shrink then disappear. Think of any large company with which you have done business.. How many of those companies /stores /contractors (that sold unique products) did you give repeat business to? Were your decisions based solely on price?

Do you drink the soda that comes in three liter bottles for 49 cents? Do you buy the least expensive paint knowing it could (and probably will) look like crap? Would you hire a homeless guy that stands at the mini mart near your home to cut your lawn or paint your fence? Why not? He is cheapest. How about that doctor that went to Upstairs University as opposed to the guy from Johns Hopkin's? Will you let him operate on your kid if he offers a better rate?

A home is a person's largest expense in the course of their entire lifetime. New roofs cost $12,000. New Flagstone patios cost $8,000. New decks go for maybe $10,000. An exterior painting can set you back $3,000+. Everyone reading this that owns a home pays these prices. Why on earth would you sell yourself short and offer $150 whole house washes with gutter scrubbing? What makes you think that someone wants to hire a hack (which, until you educate them, is the way you are perceived) to possibly damage what they have worked so hard for? Educate..remove their fear and apprehensions..make yourself different!


Your goal is to make the customer believe that he would be CRAZY to hire anyone else. That he he will have absolutely no issue with work performed, your honesty or your business integrity.

My hope is that this message has reached one person. If you still doubt the validity of what I wrote I will list for you single crew service businesses doing $500k per year in Florida, Texas, and Arizona.



__________________
Ken Fenner

 

[REDHOT]

Ken,
I just wanted to say thankyou for posting the info...

 

[mas3372]

Well Put Ken,

Thanks for your insight. I agree with all that you say and have thought about the same myself. I know when I hire someone I want the job done and I am always willing to pay the extra for the better work. I should expect the same from my customers.

I also appreciate you being blunt. There is no other way to be. I am blunt myself and the advantage is that noone is ever wondering what you mean, they know.

My only fear is that I will waste valuable time driving house to house to give estimates not to get the job, but I must realize this. I need to be professional, respectful, confident and educated and sell the service. I CAN"T afford for them not to hire my service and must win the job to make this business work for me.

Thanks again.

 

[PressurePros]

I'm glad I could help. I completely understand your dilemma. We all do. Between the price of gas, the limited time factor and homeowner's that may just be testing the water, performing estimates can cut into the bottom line. I try to qualify my customers without scaring them off. I call them back and get a feel for what they are seeking. I let them know my company is insured, performs top notch work, has hundreds of references, and we have been in business more than a minute. I tell them that a pressure washer is a tool in my arsenal and that owning one does not make a company an exterior restoration cleaner/contractor. I finalize it with a minimum in-season job price of $200. I would rather spend the minutes on the phone then ride out ten miles, spend an hour chatting with an otherwise very nice old lady to figure out she wants the top step of her porch cleaned off because her cat left a deposit there.

 

[grasshawg]

mas, here's what I've been up to lately. I just quit my 53K per yr steady job to give this a shot. I got some business cards made up, and put them on the front counters of local businesses (truck stops, restaraunts, etc. with permission, of course). I have gotten calls out the ying-yang but had to tell them to "give me a couple of weeks as I don't have my equipment yet."
That's not my point, though. Here it is: Until now, I have only been home on weekends, so that's really the only time I could do anything. We always have running (errands) to do, and here's what I did. Whatever town we were going to that day, I looked in the yellow pages and started calling businesses. I used the entire morning to make phone calls, then we would go to town and get our errands run, then visit those businesses that said "ok come by and give us an estimate." And that's just on a Saturday. Cold calling works, because I've already got at least 3 months worth of work waiting on me as soon as my equipment gets set up.
I know I get a little wordy to make a small point, but that's the little world I live in!
Hope that helps you.

 

[PowerWashofVa]

Grasshawg,

I have a suggestion...... I owned a franchise lawn care company (Spring-Green Lawn Care) for 9 years. We had hundreds of estimates to run weekly. I had a full time job. My guys couldn't keep up with production & run leads. So I trained 4 police officers to do lawn estimated. I gave then $5.00 per estimate - they where in the same area, (leads from telemarketing). I had 2 salesmen calling them two days later to answer any questions & close the sale. I paid then 10% of the gross sale after the 1st application of fert. was put down. The other thing we did was do the 1st application ASAP to lock them in.

It worked when I sold the business in 1999 I had 2000 full 6 application customers. We called them & left info in the fall about core aeration & seeding UPSELLING is a wonderful thing. I won top franchise 4 years out of 9.

Now, what I do -- NO I don't need the problems running 15 guys, office etc. It's just me. PM me & I'll tell you how I'm planning to avoid doing some physical estimates this year. I believe face to face is the best & the close rate is MUCH better but its a numbers game. More estimates you do the more work you get.

I will be doing both this year hope this helps.



Phil

 

[5 Star Johnny]

Lots of great info & advice here. ESPECIALLY Ken!! I have been a Sales & Marketing Manager for nearly 20 years and have extensive training, certification and education that has helped hone my craft. My personal approach to sales has always leaned toward "consultive" selling with "exceptional customer service" as my weapon of choice. I won't go into detail, but after both my wife & I losing our very good paying jobs within 2 weeks of each other, we wound up in this great business of pressure cleaning & restoration.

Our marketing efforts have been extremely effective and keep the phones ringing, especially during in-season. (55% of our sales is deck restoration and in WI we have 5 - 6 months) When a prospect calls our service we know they're ready to buy. Our job is to get them to stop calling anyone else and convince them that we're the best choice. Here's my input on what a phone call should accomplish:

1) Engage the prospect! Let them know you're the expert in your field and that they've made the right choice in calling you. Discover what their concerns are, empathize with their situation and assure them you can handle it.
2) Collect info!! A lot of salespeople seem to be afraid to ask questions. Without fail I will typically find out in the first conversation: how many quotes their getting; who their getting them from; how much is the other bid(s); have they used a similar service before; if so, what did they pay then; how they heard about us; TRIAL CLOSING - Yes, I will use the conversation to ask that, once I look at the job & you receive our proposal, if everything is in order WHEN would you like US to start the work!
3) Make the appointment! This is the PRIMARY purpose of using the phone. If you get a "I'll call you back" or a "let me think about it", you've lost! RARELY will they call you back. Get the appointment - or lose the sale!
4) Convey information! BUT NOT TOO MUCH! A lot of salespeople try to sell on the phone and offer up way too much info. Remember, although the selling process begins on the phone, the phone is not your best tool to close the deal. I NEVER give a price on the phone!! No matter how much they ask me to. 99% of the time you will lose, and if all their doing is price shopping and you're not one of those "price point contractors", you have absolutely nothing to sell after the price. Again, getting the appointment is the primary purpose. Announce your 30-second commmercial. Tell them about a job you just finished in their neighborhood. Briefly explain how you solved a different client's problem that is much like their issue. give them a taste, but keep them hungry!

I feel the same about driving around giving free estimates. However, if I've used the phone properly, I can get a pretty good sense about how to approach the sale and gauge how serious the client may be. Use caution, however, when pre-judging a prospect based on the phone conversation. Face-to-face sales, especially in the homeowner arena, is your absolute best bet! This is a personal service we're selling. We're asking a homeowner to spend a fair amount of money in return for a service that will improve his property. Our success rate is 70% - 75% when we get in front of a client, reinforce our phone conversation, demonstrate our work and convince the propspect that we're the right choice. Yes, I sometimes get weary of driving miles & miles to collect info for a proposal. But that's the cost of sales. But when I step onto the property and engage the customer properly, I know when I go back to the office to prepare the proposal, chances are we will have another happy client.

Good luck to you all in this new season!!

 

[wally carter]

just a note to thank all of you for the great info we can get from this site.