% of quotes accepted

[skyhuck]

I have regular customers who have gone and used other firms as they are cheaper, they get me to quote and make out all nice but then get other quotes and get people to do it to save 5 or ten pound?

 

Do they give the chance to match the cheapest quote?

 

I've had customers who ring me because they want me to to to do the job, I remembers one conifer hedge job, I quoted £400 another quoted £300, I agreed to do it for £350.

[likeitorlumpit]

I have regular customers who have gone and used other firms as they are cheaper, they get me to quote and make out all nice but then get other quotes and get people to do it to save 5 or ten pound?

 

More fool them

I'm still convinced a big majority of customers prefer to use a tradesman they have used before- provided they were happy with the work obviously.

Is it really worth the aggro of getting in several quotes to save £10.

 

Statistically though if new customers get in 3 quotes then to make sure you are charging competitively you should get 30%- if you're getting more then up your prices. Likelihood is they are only getting two or just one and that explains 75% conversion ratio. IMO:001_smile:

[Albedo]

I get 100% of the ones I get and 0% of the ones I don't get.

 

Hope this helps:001_smile:

[Hodge]

Do they give the chance to match the cheapest quote?

 

I've had customers who ring me because they want me to to to do the job, I remembers one conifer hedge job, I quoted £400 another quoted £300, I agreed to do it for £350.

 

That's the frustrating thing Dave, 2 of them didn't come back to me about the price, I would have matched it no problem, I only found out about it when I went to quote for more work. The other job the guy rang and said I was dearer and could I match the lowest price of 250, I had on this occasion quoted 400 as it was a day for 2 of us and chipper., I said no.

[Peter]

Price is not the only deciding factor, especially on pruning work, even with new clients.

[Paul Jenks]

I with Likeitorlumpit. Improve your professional relatinship with your existing client base and ask for referrals. Look to improve your conversion rate with new prospects by offering a better, clearer and more professional service. Endeavour to put price low down the list of factors.(Of course it has a bit of bearing, but no so much).

 

If you have clients who use other suppliers because they are cheaper, can you really call that person/organisation a client? Do you really want to be Quoting for them if they only go for the cheapest price and don't really value what you give? This is an attritional relationship and not good for business.

 

The percentages for conversion Likeitorlumpit quoted are a very good guide.

[the hedge man]

I get around 90% of the work I quote for by doing a deal on the spot. I would much prefer to have a look at the job abd then go away and post a quote as it's more professional, plus I can have a good think about how long its going to take and how much it's going to cost.

 

In the past I have done this many times, however by the time the quote would drop through their letter box someone else has the job. Then when I get in touch and ask them how they feel about the quote i'd get the answer 'my brother in law is going to do the tree' etc etc.

[skyhuck]

I get around 90% of the work I quote for by doing a deal on the spot. I would much prefer to have a look at the job abd then go away and post a quote as it's more professional, plus I can have a good think about how long its going to take and how much it's going to cost.

 

In the past I have done this many times, however by the time the quote would drop through their letter box someone else has the job. Then when I get in touch and ask them how they feel about the quote i'd get the answer 'my brother in law is going to do the tree' etc etc.

 

This is also my experience, although THB I prefer to just give verbal quotes as I'm paperwork phobic.

 

In the last 12 months I have only given a handful of written quotes and they were by email.

[Peter]

I generally give a verbal, then email a PDF. The written copy is more for my benefit, as I have a terrible memory and a habit of writing prices on old envelopes and then loosing them.

[Mark Bolam]

back to the thread.

I've been contemplating this % stuff

They call it 'conversion ratio' in the lingo.

Expressed as a % though but at least it's easy to understand.

Whats not so easy is considering the types of quotes/customers.

I can see 3 types of customer

-existing

-referred

-totally new from advertising/web etc.

 

I would expect a different conversion ratio from each and your overall % will be determined by the proportion of customers from each area.

So I would expect

- existing customers 95-100% conversion

-referred say 80-90%

- new - well it depends on how busy you are but it could be as low as 30% so don't panic- most people get 3 estimates and if you get 30% you're about on the money.

 

The key is getting existing customer base as high as possible. Look after them and they will look after you.

New customers are potential long term but will probably still shop around until they find someone they trust.

 

Good post.