Visiting The Site

agentsmith68

I recently had a guy call me up with his project and ask for a bid right away. I told him that I do not make bids without visiting the site first, but he obviously wanted to do some quick price shopping, so that was the last I heard from him.

This made me wonder if there are people out there who will bid on projects without seeing a site. Is it possible for someone to describe a project with so much detail that you will be willing to give him a bid over the phone?

To be fair, this guy was extrememly specific.

Tom R

Personally, - - I wouldn't even bother.

He's probably just double-checking the guy who's getting the job.

If he has no use for a 'face-to-face' meeting, - - you have no more use for him than he does for you . . .

reveivl

Give him a ball park: new constuction costs $xx/ sq. ft on average, if reno, don't even think about it. Let him kick somebody else's tires.

__________________
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

Mrmac204

I made that error- once. guy kept pushin on the phone, so I caved and gave a ballpark price- he was all about people trying to rip him off etc (crown for one room) so after a price I got the fatal words : he said "I'll have to check with my wife"
aint doin that no more! got one that I'm emailing with right now out in surrey - just short of an hour's drive- but I am not gonna give a phone price, I'll drive out.

Sam I am

I do it all the time.
All they want to hear is number....so I give them a number....could be what time it is (military time works best) or whatever...
Then when I get there, I change the price....that was yesterdays price (and it was, at that time).
You gotta be in it to win it.

__________________
Sam I am, and Sam can. If you're from NJ...I'm your man.

Mike Finley

Ask him to take the phone and slowly pan it around the job site. Have him stop, now hold it, okay now to the left... back to the right....


$10,000. give or take $5000.00

POOLMANinCT

he was very specific because he was "trained" by the dozen other contractors that have seen the job... for example when an owner tells me the have six inch radius corners, steel step with a 5 1/4 set back and a 7inch diagnal transition,
with a 3 to 1 bottom.....
I know they have been shopping & some bonehead made & shared a technical drawng wo getting the job.... what I just described anybody would call a rectangle with a stair on the side

ray

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

dirt diggler

PRECISELY


and - i'll go one step further. Start talking (in detail) about what they're talking about ...

doesn't take long for the blank stares to develop and the "oh well it was uh uh uh" himmin and hawins

mdshunk

I'll shoot a ballpark, no problem. The actual number may or may not be different when I actually look at the work, however, and I make that clear.

Example typical conversation:

Customer: How much to put up a ceiling fan?
Me: Do you have the fan already, or am I going to provide it?
Customer: I already bought it at XYZ Supply
Me: Okay, is there a fan there already, or is it just a light?
Customer: No, there's nothing there now. We just have a switch that turns on a lamp that we plug in.
Me: Okay, does the fan have a light on it?
Customer: Yes, it does.
Me: Will you need the lamp anymore? In other words, do you still need that switched outlet?
Customer: No, we won't need it anymore if we have the light on the fan.
Me: Will you want the fan and the fan's light on separate switches?
Customer: Yes, that would be great.
Me: Is there access above that room? Do you have an attic above, or another room above?
Customer: Yes, there's an attic up there.
Me: Does your attic have a floor, or is it just insulation up there?
Customer: There's some couple pieces of plywood down, but it's mostly just insulation.
Me: Okay, that will be about blah, blah, blah, if what I have pictured in my mind is what you have there. What you've described seems typical of many hundreds that I've done in the past. I'll be able to tell you within about 5 minutes of arriving at your home if there will be any special circumstances that would cause the price to be different.

You see, you can ballpark some stuff. I deal mostly in service work and quick smaller jobs, so ballparking is something that I'm somewhat comfortable with for certain things.

mahlere

if you give phone quotes, you will never sell on anything but low price. all you will ever be is a number.

wanna know how plumbing/hvac/electrical service companies generate $400k a year in one truck? not by giving phone quotes.

the exception being a regular customer who calls to get an idea so they can budget it.

mdshunk

I absolutely understand, and agree, but it's MY NUMBER, darnit. Not just something picked out of the sky. It's a calculated number, that is what I need and require to operate. Not some lowball figure. If I wanted to be a gazillionaire or a larger firm, I'd state that I don't deal in ballparks, the technician will completely evaluate and assess the situation and provide a written estimate for 65 dollars, which will be credited to the effort if they choose to have the work done. Would Thursday afternoon or Friday morning be better for you?

Doesn't matter, anyhow. When I get in the door, I'm an upsell wizard.

mahlere

that's all well and good...but what if "YOUR NUMBER" is higher than the other guys number? what does the caller have to differentiate the two of you? nothing but a number. The caller doesn't know that you are a professional, with stocked trucks, clean cut and trained employees, etc. and that the other guy looks and smells like Mad Mountain Dean and works out of a stationwagon. They don't know that you know the code inside and out, and Dean over there thinks that the code book is a paperweight.

So, no matter how accurate your number is, it doesn't matter because the only think the caller can judge you on is....well a number.

if you want to sell a job at your number, you better be there face to face to give them a reason to pay you more than the other guy wanted.

but hey, if selling on price works for you...have at it

but how many opportunities to get to the door and upsell are you losing, because the other guy threw out a better number?

tinner666

Just had one last night. I asked the lady for pics. She sent detailed pics. I gave a evaluation AND a ballpark range of prices. And said it could be more or less when I see the job. Like MD said, It's my number.

A lot of other questions were asked and answered. She wants an exact estimate now. To me, it's a way of qualifing the customer for me, and a way for her to qualify, or mabe quantify the contractor she feels comfortable dealing with.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

tinner666

As for me. I deal on a referral basis. No yellow page, no TV ads, just a website so people can get a feel for me. I look like I just crawled from under a dirty rock, but I sold 3 jobs today. And never met 2 of the customers.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

mdshunk

Admittedly, a lot. If there were holes in my schedule, that would be more of a concern, and the tactic would have to change. I feel very fortunate to operate in an area with plenty of work. There's maybe only two other electricians who do the same type of work that I do. All of the rest are either big guys, wiring bigger commercial work, or guys running romex in new houses. Not so many doing service and rennovations. Honestly, I don't understand why. It's a good living. When a Mr. E or Mr. S come to town, I'm up crap creek. I know they'll have all my work.

mahlere

congrats...hopefully since they are strictly referrals, you are getting them bacause of excellent work, not because of cheap pricing...if it works for you, keep doing it.

woodmagman

You have to give a ballpark if the details are there, but quoting a job with out plans and written details.....tell them to cut bait.
You can not tell if the grainery is empty or full by driving by either, stop in and open the hatch, it is the difference getting the job or not.

tinner666

I never go cheap! But I will cut some slack to repeat customers. Some of them go back 30 years.

On eof my first comments; "If you're looking for the low bid, I'm not your guy. I promise I'll be more expensive than any other. If you're still interested, we can talk."

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

Mike Finley

I don't know, I almost have to side with MD on this if it's service work.

When I want service work for my home I'm pretty much price shopping. If the job is 100-300 price range I'm really not too worried about his references, his years on the job, his logo'd shirts... etc...

The dollar amount it so low, the damage is pretty minimal at worst.

If I wanted a fan installed I would be pretty much like it's nothing but a commodity thing. If one guy wants $150, another wants $160 and the third wants $300, boy it's going to be really tough for that $300 to get his foot in the door no matter what he is offering.

I'm going to be trying to get a ball park on that fan install, I'm going to be trying to get an idea of the dollars involved. I won't be making any appointment to have somebody come out and set down and do an estimate for it, it's going to be $150 give or take, okay, let's do it.

Maybe if there weren't so many people willing to give out a price I wouldn't be that way.

mahlere

mike, i don't disagree with you...however, i will say this, you are not the target market for the companies doing $400k in one service truck.

there is an outfit in my area, that from what i am told, has an entire team dedicated to nothing but choosing the right demographics to market and sell to. Now, i have to say that they are running 40-50 trucks, doing resi plumbing/hvac/electrical service work. They probably average $280-300K/truck/yr with some guys hitting $400+.

they will also cost you about $600 to put that fan in. $300+ if it's a basic swap out. but they target their audience and are rewarded handsomely for it. good for them.

i for one don't have the patience any longer to bicker with anyone over a $400 invoice...