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gcajnr21

People call and want a quote over the phone? WHAT should i tell them?

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Troy McNeely

Oklahoma City Metro Area Paint Contractor
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Glasshousebltr

1.5.......million.

Bob

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Bob

ProWallGuy

Tell them, here's a ballpark:
Anywhere from $100 to $10,000.
Can't do phone pops. Those that do I assume are performing quantity over quality, unless you sell a service that has a set rate.

Edit:
I will add this. Some things can be quoted over the phone, but these are NEVER a firm price. But something I've done 100's of, like a cookie cutter powder room, I can give them a real close price right off the bat.

But beware, most people shopping for prices over the phone are doing just that, shopping for prices. They have already determined that price is going to be the 'hiring factor'. Try to dodge these types, and aim higher for a better customer base. Yeah, easier said than done, but you get the drift.

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Wallpaper Hanger St. Louis
Digital Murals Installation

slickshift

It's a tough one
They are shopping by price alone
Or perhaps getting an idea of how much they will save by DIYing it

The honest answer to them is you really can't give an answer over the phone, and anyone who does is either guessing or lying, and could not be providing accurate numbers, or not providing the service that you do

Yes, there's a good chance these types might just go with the cheapest over the phone quote if they get one

They are a good candidate for low-ballers who come in with a low bid, then get there and it's "oh...you want us to use drop-cloths, that's extra..." deals

But as PWG says, low-price/high-priority shoppers like that should not be a target customer



Well, said
There's always someone hungrier, cheaper...best not to rely on being the cheapest
It's not a good business model

Someone who will pay a little more for better quality is a better target customer
Someone who is more interested in the service/quality

If I have the time I will try and ferret them out a bit
If I can spare the time, I will sometimes try and get a foot in the door (measure) and once inside do my quality dance
If I am busy, they are just not placed on the short list (high priority) of must-do's

It is cool when you can "turn" one of these people
I just don't hold my breath

phinsher

for me it depends on the job. If it's a relatively small project and they can describe it (Size, surface, condition, desired results etc.)over the phone I don't have any problem giving the a "blind estimate". It actually works pretty well. Usually what i end up doing is offering them a minimum price.

Larger projects, no way.

Mike Finley

I'd do it as long as they are capable of signing the contract over the phone too.

Another good way to help you visualize the project more completely is to have them hold their phone close to the project in their house and slowly pan it around.

jensenconstruction

I never give phone estimates. How can you give a price for a job you haven't seen, you certianly cant trust the HO to tell the truth about the existing conditions. IMO bidding a job site unseen is just asking for problems

slickshift

...now that's funny...
I almost never get these calls, I don't even mention price in ads

Now I'm hoping I get one of these calls so I can use that line

phinsher

Here's another 2 cents from me......

Every one is priceshopping, thats the only reason we do estimates and proposals. If our customers weren't price shopping they'd just tell us to send a bill when we're done. I agree that those of us who are wise sell the customer on the quality of our work, and whats makes us different etc. Sure there are those people who aren't serious about buying, but I don't think it's a good idea to treat evryone who asks for an estimate over the phone as another species who we don't like. Here's a couple things to think about:

1) most of my customers (maybe yours too) have more money and are more successful than me. They might not be able to paint, but they usually can measure the square footage of a room.

2) many people are simply too busy to set up meetings with 3 painters and spend an hour with each going over the specifics of the job. They might be choosing their painter based on the person who provides the best info over the phone

3) they may have no idea thats it's standard and customary to have a contractor come out, measure and estimate a project. If thats the case it should be too much trouble to schedule a consultation.

Thats just three off the top of my head, I'm sure there are dozens more. Estimates over the phone shouldn't be standard operating procedure, but don't write it off completly. They may have no intentions of buying, but if thats the case i'd rather deal with them over the phone then be sitting in their house when i realize they have no intentions of buying.

We all have our production rates on paper on in our computer, I don't see any reason not to use them to offer an estimate if they really want it. Just let them know it's an estimate and an onsite consultation will be necessary to generate a proposal.

And if you can't estimate it over the phone just tell them.

George Z

We bid some jobs without seeing them, usually people from out of town, people without posession etc. We use the Real Estate listing measurements, get a lot of information from the customer, give them
a detailed proposal that covers us for most possibilities, and make it based on final inspection anyway.
We get quite a few jobs like that. We usually get a credit card deposit
and a signed back conditional proposal without seeing the customer at all.
These have been very well priced jobs with a huge upside for change orders,
as we are sometimes the only contractor that systematicaly does that
in our area.

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Brian

I get a lot of calls for prices over the phone. We first try to explain to them why we need to see the job. Some understand and some don't.

I'm getting really close to saying, "Sure, I can give you a price. But first I need you to answer 2 questions. How many man hours will the job take? And, how much material will be required?" If they can answer those questions accurately, I can give them an accurate price. After all, that's why I want to see the job.

I've experimented with George Z's approach. Most of our callers can't meet the criteria-- just price shoppers. But I see merit in it.

Brian Phillips

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Houston Interior Painting
Houston Exterior Painting
Houston Painting Contractor

Humble Abode

Well said. I agree.

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Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe. Kurt Vonnegut, (1922 - 2007) from the Novel 'Hocus Pocus'
The NAPP
Milwaukee Painting Contractor

Mike Finley

I would be interested to hear from anybody who tracks leads and has the statistics from closing percentages of estimates over the phone and closing percentages of customers seen in person, and still believes giving estimates over the phone is a cost effective ROI on their advertising.

amcline

been working for a few years and no problem giving phone estimates, but they are subject to change once on the job, and take about 1/2hour on the phone to give accurate price for a whole 2200sf house.

just establish your average and figure it several ways, psf per hour, per day, per task, etc, and go somwhere in the middle, chances are youll be real close.

phinsher

Mike, Here's my stats for the past few months. Please note these are all wallpaper projects. Customer requested new wallpaper, paint ceiling and trim. I provide my minimum price. Long silence. They ask why its so expensive. I explain. Following day I visit the house to provide a fixed price. In the past 3 months all the fixed prices were the same as the estimate given over the phone.

March 2 out of 3
April 1 out of 2
May 2 for 2

Those that didn't buy were being disqualified in the first few minutes of the conversation. I'm currently not advertising so I'm not sure how to respond to your ROI question.

Our normal closing rate from qualified leads is about 80%.

These projects just seem to break down into the same number of days regardless if one is a little bigger than the last.

AAPaint

I understand where Mike is coming from on this one. I haven't given any phone estimates that turned into jobs unless it's for a pressure wash which I have pretty static prices depending on the size of the house. Everything else, I don't bother with ball-park numbers over the phone. If they ask for a ball park, I tell em "yankee stadium is a nice one"! Anyway, I sold cars and learned darn near the same sales training he did...it's funny to listen to him sometimes....but what he says is right. You really should get in front of your client to sell them. I never once sold a car over the phone. As a matter of a fact, your only job at the dealership when handling incoming calls is to get them in the showroom, regardless of anything else. There are many creative ways to get an appointment with someone who just wants numbers over the phone. You have to dig a little and see if this person is simply price shopping, or if they're looking for real value, but I'm still going to say you really should be setting appointments and giving yourself a real opportunity to close a deal.

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-AAPaint

AA Quality Painting & Pressure Washing LLC
Jacksonville Painters
Jacksonville, FL.