Of course the factor sheet is a guide, my work up sheet is mine, I offer my estimate sheet and discuss everything. If you have a system that works well, great!
Estimate Sheet:
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estimate + conversation = sale
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I donāt but i love the idea. Is there one you recommend?
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Allow yourself an out with an estimate. State ahead of time that if you find the work will exceed the estimate you will stop and talk to the customer about any added fees.
Iād rather eat it a few times than not honor the price i gave them. I feel if i had a chance to look at the job and still didnāt quote the right price, then thatās on me.
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Then drink from the Holy Grail my friend.
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I think the key factor is always try to meet with the homeowner in person, it gives them that sense of trustworthiness and who is is going to be working on their house. I have a lot of āgarage door codeā customers and 95% of my business comes from referrals so that initial contact is key.
My bid process is to just walk around the outside to get a window count (because itās less time consuming than going through every room) and then go back inside to look at any issues that would add to the price. I only offer an all inclusive service, so I give them a price that includes screens and tracks, and tell them when I can do it. āCut and Dryā is my pricing philosophy.
If the home is going to take more TLC than normal (like removing hard water stains or paint) I will let them know that is what I am going to do and why it will make more of a difference. Occasionally I have customers say they donāt want storm windows or Pellas pulled apart, or just the outsides cleaned. If the inside are bad enough I will explain how cleaning only the outsides will make little difference and they would be much happier if I just cleaned everything. The price may seem high to you or the customer, but if you spend an extra minute explaining the details they will feel more comfortable with the price. 9.9 times out of 10 theyāll choose you and not even look for another estimate.
Window cleaning is simple as should the selling process, so avoid trying to be car salesman.
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The brand of the boat, HP of the motor, and an Escalade is usually a good indicator if they can afford our services and donāt need to hear anything but your answer to, āHow soon you can do itā?
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My last three estimates ended with that. I have gotten in the habit of showing the price with available dates next to it - they just pick one.
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ā¦ I thought they only did that in Detroitā¦
HP DeskJet 3700 under 85 bucks at best buy. 12 for ink refills. Creates itās own wifi so you donāt need a phone hotspot. Download the HP app and some kind of app to create estimates. I was recommended Joist (android) and love it so far.
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Thanks for the tip, Will. 
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How do you power the printer in your vehicle?
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Sounds like you got a good method.
Totally different than mine butnslunds professional and if its working great.
I usually push all my quotes to one day so if i had to coordinate appointment times with all of those people home i would never finish. I think one of the things that people like is not having to be there for a quote.
Hi so and so contacted us in regards to getting the windows/gutters/roof and just here to take a look. Iāll take a quick look weāll put some numbers together and send over a quote to your email. Any specific problems with the job you were worried about?
Do you need to come in?
No we can see what we need from the outside.
Walk around/count/measure. Get in the truck put the quote together and send it off before i leave.
I can see whether people opened it or not so in a day or two Iāll follow up call.
Hi we sent you a bid for X and i just wanted to make sure you got it and see if i could answer any questions.
Most people are Isiah booking at this point.
Im very low pressure so never doing a hard close on it. Definitely faster then your method but i think these are maintenance items not necessarily an exciting life event. The reason they hire someone is they want it done without worrying or thinking about it. So if you can do it on autopilot for them they like that. Last thing they want is to hold someones hand through the process.
Thatās not to say that chatting people up is a waste of time or anything. But you are selling them that youer efficient and they donāt need to do anything.
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Vito Corleone said it bestā¦ āeither your brains or your signature are going on this contractā . That way, the customer has a choice in what happens so it doesnāt come across as being too sales-y.
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Something like this. Make sure your battery and alternator are in decent condition. Iāve never had a problem but Iāve replaced both in the last yearish
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wow, i have only gone to one or places in the last 2 years, canāt imagine the extra work.
Of actually going and bidding?
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