I've found that there are two kinds of carpet cleaners: Those who quote over the phone and those who don't. And both have their reasons for each process.
When you quote over the phone it's so easy. No getting in the car or van and driving many miles to see a prospect who perhaps is only interested in a low price or is getting three or four estimates... or whose carpets are beyond cleaning. However, you won't close as many jobs.
Giving an in-home quote on the other hand can be very time consuming. You may spend 20 - 30 minutes in a home but you are much more likely to secure the job.
So which is best?
There are a number of factors to consider. If you are targeting high-end homeowners, there's no doubt that giving an in-home quotation is far more profitable at the end of the day AND will save you time. The secret is to only visit those who are worthy of your valuable time. In other words, filter out all those who do not fit your ideal client criteria. This is usually not done and is the main reason why many resort to quoting over the phone.
So why does an in-home visit result in more jobs?
It's because we are able to present our case much better. We can use photos, flip charts and testimonials to persuade the prospect to use us and not a competitor. Remember marketer Dan Kennedy's question: "Why should your prospect do business with you versus every other option available to her including what she's already doing and including doing nothing at all?" Only an in-home presentation can do a good job of answering this question.
And crucially, we are told that in communication:
- 7% of the message is conveyed by words
- 38% by tone
- 55% by body language
That means that by quoting over the phone more than half our message is not getting through! How can we persuade and convince someone if most of our message is hidden? It means though that we must make sure we look and sound worthy of them hiring us.
So how can an in-home presentation be more profitable?
Apart from closing more jobs, if we're going to all the trouble of helping a prospect make a right decision by choosing our high-quality work rather than risk a competitor, then we need to be charging more for this. Higher prices = more bottom line profit.
And how can in-home quotations save us time?
Simply by being selective who we visit in the first place. Do not visit everyone who asks! Only give in-home quotations to those who qualify. That is, they prove on the phone that they are the type of clients that we want...that they are prepared to pay a higher price for top quality work. This can be done with a series of well thought out questions.
So how can we be really sure whether we should quote over the phone or in-home?
The answer is the same as with all marketing... test! Spend one week quoting over the phone and track your results and one week only doing in-home visits but at a higher price. Note how many jobs are closed, the average job ticket as well as the time spent giving quotations. Track profit per hour.
And of course, don't forget the lifetime value of a client. It may cost us more in time and money to acquire a client in the first place but if they are worth several thousands of pounds in repeat work (for which we can quote over the phone) and referrals, what's the point in trying to save a few pounds initially by quoting over the phone?