plainpainter 217 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 As everyone knows - everything you do related to your business needs to be appropriately accounted for. Today I had a call to do an estimate which included washing vinyl siding, some sheds, and a trex deck cleaning - total came out to $700. I spent an hour and a half driving and doing the estimate. I will now take notes on my drive times and estimation times - if you do 3 estimates - and your closing rate is roughly a third - then it's possible to do 4 and half hours of driving and estimation time to just get one job. Although this is based on just this one estimate - we'll see how it averages out. I am also going to keep a 'closing' statistics town by town. If some towns just don't pay - then I will know not to bother even driving - or do heavier pre-qualification. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotShot 34 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 are you using any special forms or anything Dan? This is a good idea, let us know how it goes and/or if it helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plainpainter 217 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 Do you mean for the customer - or for my own records? I am just setting up an excell spreadsheet - and just programming in formulas - there is plenty of built in statistics. To be honest - I didn't real sell that well today, other than verbally explaining about the tiger stripes - and how most guys 'kill' trex with too hot of bleach mix - and kill the color. I didn't have any good pamphlets - oh well season is early - it will be a few weeks before I have my $hit together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PressurePros 248 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 Dan, those stats are important. You know my thoughts.. everything you do that pertains to your business has to be measured in ROI. You have a young company so you can afford the drive times perhaps. I'm at the point now, anything over 30 minutes away I turn down or refer out. As you grow in volume you will want to do the same, I'm sure. The only thing I wil hit the road for is an ipe deck and those average in the $2000 range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plainpainter 217 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 I will be seperating closing rate statistics as well based on where they came from i.e. yellow pages, classifieds, referal. And perhaps different categories - be it a typical house washing customer, vs. a roof washing, or a deck restoration. The thing I faltered on today was closing the deal. The lady of the house set the appointment up, the husband was there - he takes the estimate and says he will run it by his wife. I think I will also categorize these 'bait 'n switch' couples. I don't think meeting with this guy was any better than leaving an estimate in a mailbox. I will do a callback - but pretty upset at not knowing what to do in these instances. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John T 744 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 Is it possible for you to do estimates over the phone?? Better yet have them send you digital pictures and do some estimates that way. I've done both. Digital for some bigger jobs such as a house staining job. Just yesterday I closed two estimates over the phone but they where the basic Vinyl and concrete patio powerwashing jobs.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John Orr 206 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 90% of my estimates are over the phone. Determine a price per square foot and ask the customer for the measurement - presto! you have your price. I explain that at $3+/gallon for gas and a van that gets 12 mpg (on a good day). "Shoppers" appreciate getting an instant quote and I book almost all of these calls. I do offer to come out if there are any add-ons (decks/roofs), but giving estimates by phone is the way to go - at least for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James 624 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Dan , you live out side of Boston don't you? That is one of the best places to be located in the country. Lot's of big bucks. Every time you do a quote canvass the hood with some fliers. Don't waste your time by just driving out to a quote. Research the area ! Find all the great area's within 25 mile radius. Bring a bike with u and ride to hand out fliers. Find a public intersection 's and put a sign up. This works very well. I remember the grand old day's of Canvassing a Hood........ I can get by by doing quote's over the phone because I have reference in every town within a 25 mile radius. However; Easter sunday I did a quote because I was driving by a house going to an outlaw's for dinner.It was nothing like the phone conversation. Good thing I stopped. The house was much bigger and had lots of wood to be done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plainpainter 217 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Now you guys are advising about quotes over the phone - I thought that was the worst kind of practice? Don't you need to meet a customer in order to sell to them? Granted I didn't really do a great job selling that day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
