An informal survey - Mad Dog

Mitch_6

Not to confuse this with a prior thread on free estimates.
But this is our process.

We try to prequalify someone before we go out to quote, cold calls and some existing to see that they are realistic.

Especially cold calls for prices like boiler swaps we inform them of the time we spend sizing and designing the system ect. If they are unrealistic but insist we state we must bill a minimum for our estimate $45.00 and I never have a taker.

For the people we do go out for I will typically type out a full estimate (from a pre formated form in word) with description of what I will be providing (equipment specification by brand, size of water heater but not actual boiler size, don't want to do the other guys calculations). On the estimate is also what we do not provide for and other legal terms.

We mail it out with brochures of the equipment we will be providing and we keep an open job ticket on our computer as a reminder.

We generally call back to see how things go, if they say some one ells got the work we put them in our data base as other plumber so when we get a call in the future from them we can reference that information. If no work was done we can also ask what happened if we are called for future service.

We have had many occasions that we bid a big job did not get it but are called on a Saturday or Sunday to fix an emergency call. The data base is helpful so we can steel a character from Seinfeld and say "NO PLUMBING FOR YOU" or "WHY DID YOU NOT CALL THE GUY THAT DID YOUR BOILER" Funny how I could use the jobs I did not get as referrals for what I do provide.

Hope I was close to answering the question.

Mitch S.

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Mad Dog_2

How many of you and to what degree............................

do you follow up proposals with a phone call to find out their decision? When I give a free quote, which is only for regular customers and prescreened recommendations from them, I expect, in return, a decision and reason why. Mad Dog

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Gary Hayden_2

Follow-up

Any professional appreciates follow-up and that works both ways. I thank salesman that follow-up with me. Sometimes we all just get to busy and a follow-up from the salesman makes "it" important again. If I recommend a friend to another friend as I did here recently with a garage door installation, I will follow-up with both ends as a mediator. In the case of this garage door example, my friend that was the buyer was looking for a different system than my friend the installer was offering. My friend the buyer told me this and I followed up with my other friend the installer when I saw him at church. Networking .... Follow-up.... Making contact.

George Peteya_2

Amen

... anyone remember the old Paine-Webber commercial? "How did they know what you wanted?" "They asked!" Wish I could follow my own advice more often ...

clammy

follow up

Hello Matt hope all is well as for your question as always i have to say it depends upon how they react to the quote .If they seem to be shopping for price then i will not call back nor will i return calls for service on something some one else installed it's just my pet pev ,i some times feel that i have left the ball in there court and it's there call totally .Since i don't advertise at all 'all my work i do is word of mouth and if there looking cheap i'm not the guy .I regularly turn away service work on new systems that where hacked in they wanted to save money in the first place so i tell them to call the guy who installed it .I get a real lot of cheap stakes wheather it's heating or a/c as for the later A/C it's a very hard sale to install a system and total stand behind your work manship and honor the manafactors warranties plus have every room within 2 degrees of each other .Sorry to get off the subject but i aleways tell them that the quote is only good for 30 days and the sooner they make a desiccion the better ,i have a few quotes out there that if they call will be waiting for a least 1 1/2 months and the price will be higher then quoted but that 's the way the cookie crumbles .A famous quote is those who hesitate are lost espically when it comes to a/c it seems they only really think about it after the attic is above 160 as the temp rises so does the price espically when you qouted it in march .peace and good luck clammy

Terry_14

Every One

Yes Matt i get frustrated when estimates are only used for keeping a competitor honest.

However if I don't call I never know who beat me and why. I can not change without input good or bad!

Terry

Rich_18

est.

No I dont, [figure it'll cause me more agravation] although its there right to pick who they want, I LOVE ' I'LL CALL YOU EITHER WAY' I feel like smashing them right then.Better chance [much better]I'll get my 'check in the mail' before they call & say sorry we picked 'so & so'
Verbal is free as far as est. Dog eat dog [cat too!] you know man!

John L

Interesting question

The question begs and gets many answers, first of all if you have put in the time to put together the proposal, why would'nt you follow up and inquire of the HO what their plans are. I follow up on every single proposal, some I know that there will be no answer on, some will have gone elsewhere, some dont have the money,some more are just tire kicking, and a small few will buy from me, and that is the key, because if I did'nt call back they very well may have gone elsewhere, or may not have bought at all, but with gentle persuasion they buy. From experience I have found that my best chance of the sale is the first time we get together, about 80% of my sales come on a first call close basis. From there the percentages go down dramatically to about 20%. This question that Mad Dog asked is one of the best non technical ones posed here on the Wall in along time and reading the responses you can see a great diversity of responses and reasons why and why not a call back should be done. Ask these questions as a follow up to the one asked by Mad Dog. Why don't they buy the first time around and why did'nt they buy from me/you, and what could we do differently to change the outcome? Here are some possible scenarios, 1. maybe they just did'nt have all the money needed for the work outlined, 2.Was financing offered with "friendly terms-the longer the better- a little hint here, I am finding more people are asking for/using financing than I have ever seen before. 3. Was the equipment/work/material specified within the budget/needs? 4. Did we over spec the system?
5. Do we know what our competitors are offering and where their pricing is at- yes even the cheap guys have to make a profit, so knowing the differences is important. 6. I ask to see other proposals on EVERY call because I know what I specify and the $ cost of what I am quoting on, and by seeing other quotes I can make comparisons and distinctions between the quotes and attach a dollar figure to these differences so that the HO sees and understands what's going on. 7. Competitors are all around us, a mixed bag for sure, but there nevertheless, and ready and willing to take our customers, referrals, friends business. 8.I work in the Chicago area and if I just worked on referrals only I would starve, because ask this question, How many of your customers are referring you 1, 2 or 3 new people each working day of the year, none of mine are! 9. How many times have you quoted on a job and to get a call 3,6 or 12 months later with the go ahead to do it, it happens to me all the time. 10. The cost of generating the lead and running it is closer to $700 than it is to the standard of $250 we have all heard about down the years. Would'nt you want to put yourself in the best possible position to recoup that cost? 11. How would you react if you found a competitor got the business because they were the only ones to call back and ask for it? How would you feel if that was a $20k, $30K or $50K job? 12. What is the REAL reason you don't call? is it beacause they may say no? or is it beacause they may tell you that your price is too high and beyond their means? 13 and finally what if you called every person just for the heck of it and you found that you were getting busines that you thought was lost would you keep up the habit? After reading many post on the wall over the years I realise that here are a lot of highly skilled, qualified and accomplished professionals on this forum and to reach these levels of expertise you have had to follow a recognised path of learning and follow through and develop your skills to reach the levels youare now at, so I will pose one final question, what would happen if you took this approach to following up on all you sales calls and what would it do to your bottom line?

Jerry_15

Right on Terry- whenever I get lazy or too busy to follow up I lose. The real key is to specify the length of time that the quote is good for (2 weeks, 30 days max). I usually charge for quotes because it's in the context of a service call, and there is a minimum charge ($95 in my case). If a new boiler is called for I credit that back if they order the work within two weeks. You bet I call back.

Unknown

same here

If people (new customer) call and looking for prices... I tell them right off the bat that I'll be higher than other because there's only one way to do the job... The right way and no short cuts which are the reasons why other bids are lower...

Steve_35

We followup until they make a decision

I was at a sales training seminar a couple of weeks ago. The trainer's number was for those that don't decide on the initial call and you later close on, it takes an avoerage of 4 follow up calls.

That's an AVERAGE of 4 follow up calls. You've already made the initial investment why not keep calling until they make a decision?

Mad Dog_2

Great responses........................

and thank you John L. for the lengthy one. We do very few free estimates, but if someone comes highly recommended, the people (that rec'd us) can get highly insulted. As a few of you said, they go in the file. I have had a few over the years that i said: "look, you got one free estimate out of me, but you won't get two.....if we come over, we are coming to do the job." Most can't argue with that and I would say 60% go for it. Thanks again guys. Mad Dog

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George_10

I have used this \"out the door\" statement for years.

" I can live with yeses and nos, but maybes drive me crazy."

I do get more calls back from fence sitters this way. It also gives you the opening to find out why you were chosen or not. You need to know these answers from potential clients. You can not improve unless you know why some buy and some don't.

IF it only is a timing issue, make sure you record a definite date to call them back. Call backs on interested prospects can be very helpful to your bottom line.

Empire_2

Estimates...

A lot of our installs come from a service call that has yielded a replacement recommendation. I will fix anything if it can be fixed, but if it can harm the customer, I will shut it down and tag it. In Buffalo, NY it seems like the cheapest price always sells and there I go missing out on projects that I thought were mine. I usually tell the customer that my price is my price, and it will not go up, and it will also not go down to compromise quality. People with common sense see the value in this, but there are also people that will always go for the cheapest price. My comment after a follow up is, "thank you for the opportunity,...call me when it breaks down". I will be more than happy to help.

Mike T.

Jerry_15

I always hand out a printed referral sheet that has over 50 contacts, some with phone #'s with customers permission, along with the brochure on the boiler and quote. My favorite line is "It will never get any younger, smarter, or prettier, just like me. You got your money's worth out of it; it's time to quit throwing money."