[wpclean]

Just lately I have been giving out lots of quotes for little faffy jobs, but people saying it's too dear !    I always try and act profesionally, and thank them for their interest but inside I want to scream, and ask them what planet are they living on !!!

I really enjoy doing the work for genuine people who appreciate a good quality job, and don't mind paying a reasonable price, but they are in the minority, and you have to kiss a lot of frogs !

Rant over, thanks for sharing, I feel a lot better now 

[Kev Martin]

I feel for you and your frustration.  That said I do feel it is very important to quantify the customer prior to quoting. 

Not trying to be a smart a$$ just passing on some friendly advice!

1.  We get 10-15 calls a day for Various Hard Floor Cleaning!
2.   It normally starts with something like "How much do you charge to do this"
3.  My response is always the same!
4. 
a.  What is the floor?
b.  How many M2?
c.  What's wrong with it?
d.  Where are you?
e.  Can I park outside?
f.  What floor is it on / Is there a lift?
g.  Can you send me photo's

5.  They then realise that there are considerations in order to give a ball park figure!

Once I know all the above I normally give them a "Ballpark Figure"  Often that is the end of 2/3rds of the calls but now I am left with 5 people I have a chance with and I usually by now have their address and contact details.

Then I start to get serious with them and we get rid of another 2-3.  Now I have 2 left but I then know I have an 80-90% chance of a conversion.

The point is I make them do some work as well, I educate them before any sale, I have wasted very little time on them and I certainly don't drive round quoting wasting my precious time.

You may know all this and I am sorry if "I am teaching you to suck eggs"  but it works for me!!!

Kev Martin
Tiling Logistics Ltd

[Smudger]

Another thing is do you know over the phone the job is small and faffy? If so have a minimum charge and then you can say that - although you may still want to go out and look at least if it is small they know where it starts from price wise.

Mrs Smudger

[justin cooper]

Thats a good read Kevin ill be honest this is some thing im really struggling with since ive started, I have no confidence when quoting and people can tell . Im giving quotes that are way too low and still getting knocked back. Then today i quoted for a drive and he nearly ripped my arm off shacking my hand , im so peed off could have got alot more than i asked for, but its all part off learning.
I really need to have a set of questions and responses and i bit of sales patter would help, just have to hope i get better as time goes on.  

[Kev Martin]

Interesting!

Selling is about selling yourself and your services!  Some people are born salespeople and get 80% of jobs others quote 20 jobs and get 1 if they are lucky.

Example:  In my mind  there are different types of sellers and different types of buyers.

Sellers

1.  The real salesperson who finds a common denominator and an affinity with the client.  They then make friends with the client and give them a professional quote and service.  They convince the buyer that they are the real deal and not to buy just on price but on the finished job.
2.  Another type of salesperson is someone who thinks quick on their feet they may or may not be good at what they do.  Often they badger the client into having the work done or to have more work done than is necessary.
3.  Then you have the salesperson who knows very little so they bull$hit their way through the whole thing and sometimes get away with it!  I call these "One Trick Wonders"
4.  Finally you have someone who is good at the job and probably wants to be better but know very little about sales, do virtually no research, they are not prepared or ready to answer on the spot questions usually through lack of experience!

Buyers

This list is endless but here are the typical ones

1.  The genuine buyer who have a reasonable knowledge , want a good job done, are prepared to be educated and are prepared to pay.
2.  The Millionaire who wants a West End job for an East End Price because they believe they have all the money, they are not going to part with a lot of it, you are there to do their bidding for nothing.
3.  The buyer who wants it done but they are only going to have it done if you are the cheapest.
4.  The commercial client who has got to get it done because their director or boss said so but at the cheapest quote
5.  The commercial client who is switched on and knows they have to pay to get the best result

I could go on all night I suppose and I am sure the experienced people on here can add a lot more.

The upshot is:

Sell yourself first!
Do your research!
Be very good at what you do!
Don't sell on price alone!
Tell them you are busy even if your not to start with!
If they don't go for it, don't get upset!
Walk away with your head held high and move on!

It does get easier

Kev Martin
Tiling Logistics Ltd

[Mike Halliday]

Jordine, lacking confidence to ask for a high price is incredibly common, it's a mind set that is very hard to break.

I sold double glazing for one of the most expensive companies in the UK (Anglianwindows) compared to local companies  their prices were usually double.....it was a hard sell.

But I had to quote high prices as I worked to a set price list.

this is what you need to do,   sort out a price/quotation form that has a set price formula written down that you fill in in front of the customer. It list the area, the square footage price and any additional charges.

You fill it in, then....... (you don't need to say a word) you just turn the page to the customer and show the figure.

Some salesmen used to tell the customer they had forgotten  thier glasses and ask them to fill out the form themselves, so they could see exactly how the price was worked out.

This was a real easy way to overcome price fear.

[justin cooper]

Mike your right and its a mindset that's cost me quite a bit of money today It all started good then i had my first week with no work, loads of quotes but no jobs I think that messed with my head. I do like that idea, I think ill get some sheets printed up and use them for quoting that way ill stick to my price.

[Kev Martin]

Mike

Would you ever try to sell like that again!  Double Glazing Style I Mean of course?

Kev

[Mike Halliday]

It's actually the best way, it gives a structured path towards the sale.

I don't now follow it to the letter but I do use elements of it.

Little things like making small talk as I arrive to put the customer at ease, price conditioning, pre-empting objections etc

Using a  survey form to work out the price is a simple way to justify the quoted price. otherwise the customer just thinks you have just plucked a figure out of the air

[Paul Noble]

Samson,

Its obviously a " lack of confidence thing"  so lets be "POSITIVE."

Your defo doing the correct marketing as your getting plenty of calls for your services.

When it comes to "Selling" its not about the "gift of the gab" its about listening to what the customer wants & offering it to them in a way thats acceptable for them & you!

Only you know what you want & need to make from each job that you do, so when pricing the job just price what they have asked for & use other things for your negotiations.

e.g. You price a patio for £200- & the customer says its too dear, you say really, what sort of figure did you have in mind, they are thinking £100- but dont want to offend you so they say £150-.

You look around & either include something else, cleaning the patio doors takes a few minutes or even ask them to remove all the patio furniture & plants etc, which they would have to remove anyway & drop your price to £180-.

It may or may not work but it gives the customer a feeling that they are either saving money or getting more than what they wanted.

It works for me.

Hope this helps.

[Kev Martin]

It's actually the best way, it gives a structured path towards the sale.

I don't now follow it to the letter but I do use elements of it.

Little things like making small talk as I arrive to put the customer at ease, price conditioning, pre-empting objections etc

Using a  survey form to work out the price is a simple way to justify the quoted price. otherwise the customer just thinks you have just plucked a figure out of the air

OK I get that but unlike you and many others I never give a price on the day.  I certainly write everything down including measurements,  I note anything that may affect the way I do the job and I photograph the whole thing.  Then I go away and work out all material costs, fuel and labour and only  then do they get a quote.

Kev Martin
Tiling Logistics Ltd

[wpclean]

Most of the jobs I get are when I actually meet the person, it is the ones who usually text or email, that give me the problems . . but I cover a large area, so going to mention the minimum price in future 

[Rob_Mac]

Confidence to charge a higher price or a price that you value your service at, in what is a low entry level market is extremely difficult.

You can only gain the confidence to do that if you know you are very good, if you have plenty of work and if you have a portfolio (residential or commercial) of satisfied clients.

I can only tell you how it works from my perspective.

I don't have Chris Scotts good looks
I don't have Lee Kenny suave tones
I don't have Rogers encyclopaedic knowledge
I don't have Lee's Manc charm.

I have confidence from previous works and what I and my set ups can achieve. Mr Smith doesn't know me and doesn't care what I have done before (Mr Tesco does - on this side, commercial it is what you have done before), Mr Smith doesn't give a shiney sh*te.

I think it is the way you speak, the way you put what you are going to do across, the way you have to differentiate (in a very short space of time) your service from the ten bob merchants.

People will always gauge what you do against what they earn in one day and they think that it can be achieved with a cheap Karcher so why pay you 200 notes.

I know that Mike is good at this from his posts on here and his conversion rate, at a residential level.

I'd be on the phone to him or if he was ok with it spending a day with him

Rob