The gall of some people

[Kendall69]

I ask enough "qualifiers" before I quote. Who, what, where, - EXACTLY where, address, phone number etc. etc., somewhere they will stutter, and you got em.

If a real customer asks "why do I want so much info", I say "well I may have another job in your area, and if I do, I can offer you a lower price, and MR. or Mrs. so and so, you would like the lowest price we can offer - don't you?

You can come up with your own lingo, but I've trapped a lot of competition. When I know I have a competitor on line, and you can always tell, my price triples, this way the competition feels they can quote just "under" me and still be twice as much as me.
Or depending on my mood, I might go half my price, just so they figure "how is he doing it for that, I can't compete at those low prices"

 

[scott_vt]

Maybe he was just wanting to make sure he didn't undercut your prices and steal business from you.

Afternoon Bird,
Good one !!! Lil afternoon pickmeup !

 

[LoneCowboy]

I ask enough "qualifiers" before I quote. Who, what, where, - EXACTLY where, address, phone number etc. etc., somewhere they will stutter, and you got em.

If a real customer asks "why do I want so much info", I say "well I may have another job in your area, and if I do, I can offer you a lower price, and MR. or Mrs. so and so, you would like the lowest price we can offer - don't you?

You can come up with your own lingo, but I've trapped a lot of competition. When I know I have a competitor on line, and you can always tell, my price triples, this way the competition feels they can quote just "under" me and still be twice as much as me.
Or depending on my mood, I might go half my price, just so they figure "how is he doing it for that, I can't compete at those low prices"

Brilliant
I'm stealing it
simply brilliant

 

[BillyP]

Or depending on my mood, I might go half my price, just so they figure "how is he doing it for that, I can't compete at those low prices"

What if it was a real customer, would you stand by your bid? To tell you the truth I don't see how anyone can give a real bid over the phone. You might give an estimate until you could go look at it in person.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

What if it was a real customer, would you stand by your bid? To tell you the truth I don't see how anyone can give a real bid over the phone. You might give an estimate until you could go look at it in person.

That's always been my thinking. In my "non-tractor life", I'm an estimator for a general contractor. We get detailed engineers reports on site conditions, evaluations of road access in and out of the sites, and we study the labor situation in an area before we start bidding. No variables are left to chance. But the very first step is to visit the site, get out and walk around, getting a "feel" for the job at hand. I do the same thing with bids on mowing.

When pressed for a price over the phone, I give a "ballpark" estimate with a high and low range. Low is never TOO LOW, and high is always quite a bit higher than I really suspect it will end up. NEVER back yourself into a corner until you see that corner. I suspect I've scared off a few potential customers with my high "guess", but with all the work we can handle now, I'm not sweating each and every job anyway.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Get a phone call today for the business (sweet, money!!!!)
wife answers
Some guy asking how much for 60 acres?

We tell him
He says "thanks, I've got this job to do and I don't know what to charge"
and hangs up

a. I hope he's got a 5' cutter for that 60 acres
b. I would have called him back and told him 'well, you can make money at $10 an acre" and watch him go under

The unmitigated gall.

Come work for a tractor dealer for awhile. I bet 1 out of 5 calls that we get are people asking how much something is worth for a trade. Then they tell you that there is one comming up for auction, or for sale in the paper. Its fine, we just hope they are actual customers of our at some point... but it does get annoying.

 

[ToadHill]

I always priced my jobs based on time. I had customers who liked to talk your ear off, and that was "ok" since I was on the clock from the time I got there until the time I left.

 

[EddieWalker]

On a TV show I was watching about million dollar RV's, this one guy had a great saying when a customer wanted him to do something very difficult or complicated. He said " if you have the money, I have the time." hahaha

I just love that attitude. My client asked me if I'd go to Lowes with her the other day to look at design magazines. I said you're the boss, and I have plenty of time. hahaha

Eddie