Want to win more quotes? Frustrated with getting into wrestling matches with customers around price?
Well here’s the thing. Unless you set yourself apart from your competitors, you will always be negotiating on price. The good news is that it is relatively simple to position yourself in a professional, positive light, thus converting a higher percentage of your quotes to jobs and being able to charge a fair price for both you and the customer.
Here are three simple strategies that you can implement straight away that will immediately increase trust with your customer and help you win more business.
- Be Transparent
We have found that customers now are looking for a lot more transparency when receiving a quote i.e. they want to see how the quote is made up and how much the different elements cost.
Putting the price at the top of the quote, with the breakdown of all elements and their costs beneath it, has been proven to win up to an extra 40% of quotes!
- Be Accurate
In the construction and trade industries I frequently work with clients who are not charging sufficient from the get go! They have little understanding of how much it costs to run their business each month, or how much Gross Profit the business makes. Knowing these two figures is essential in any business, as they make it possible to calculate your breakeven point – the amount of sales you need to hit to cover the overheads.
For example, lets imagine we have a business that costs £10,000 a month to run, and the Gross Profit (net sales minus materials minus sub contractors) is 35%. We then can do a simple calculation:
£10,000 divided by 35% = our breakeven monthly net sales = £28,571
This means the business needs to hit this level of sales each month before they make any profit.
And if that’s not happening, they have a choice: increase prices or reduce overheads (or a combination of the two).
So when quoting for jobs always be aware of the Gross Profit you are making, and the minimum sales you need to meet each month.
- Be the Expert
It is essential to present yourself as an expert in your field to gain credibility and build trust with your customers and avoid appearing the same as everyone else.
This next tip I came across years ago working with an electrician, and I thought it was simple but clever.
Bob, as we will call him, made sure that he had processes in place to send his customers a written quote within 24 hours of visiting them. He knew that the customer was probably inviting other electricians round to quote and understood the need to be prompt. This was the first differentiating factor.
The second thing, which I think was really innovative, was that with the quote he sent a booklet entitled ’10 things to check when inviting a tradesperson into your home’. This contained practical advice which instantly set him apart from his competition. It was given to the customer without any expectation of receiving work in return, and so was really appreciated.
And you can imagine what this did for his conversion! Customers were more likely to go with him as he appeared more credible, trustworthy and genuinely helpful. And no wrestling required!!
So, please do try these strategies in your business and be sure to let me know how you get on!