When Giving a bid....

[rvincent]

Someone wants a bid, you go look at the property and figure out your pricing. You call them, they dont answer, you leave a message. How long do you wait before you call them again?

[lawn guy1350]

i always try to bid when their home. id say maybe wait til the next morning or around 6 that night...

[lawnpro724]

Just give them a few day's to call you back and if they don't return your call give them another call and if they don't answer leave another message. If they don't call back after the second message just forget about them. Most people call several businesses at once to get bids from and usually take the lowest bid but not alway's. There are several reasons why you may not be getting your messages returned but the two most common are its just to early in the season or they found another business who is cheaper.

[Jake Wolf]

That way they have a face to go with a price and I'm never the low bidder. I do ask when they are looking to make a decision by and follow up with a phone call to seal the deal. Rarely fails.

[mattfromNY]

Generally, if they are a PITA now, they will be a PITA always!! Dont ever take it to heart, just keep chugging along. Sometimes, as lawnpro said, it may be early yet. Another reason I've run into, A lady will call you to get an estimate, then the 'I can do it all myself' husband finds out and puts the halt to the whole idea.

[HOOLIE]

Most of the time I call the person first, before looking at the place. Just to let them know I got their call or e-mail, and to make a first impression over the phone. Also then they know to look for the estimate...and WHERE to look for it I'm always surprised people don't check their front door for the estimate. So many people go in and out thru the garage and will call me 5 days later complaining that no estimate was done..."Have you checked your front door sir??"

[jeffscap]

Originally Posted by rvincent

Someone wants a bid, you go look at the property and figure out your pricing. You call them, they dont answer, you leave a message. How long do you wait before you call them again?

If possible try to meet them eyeball to eyeball,then you can wrap up the deal right then and there.When just building jobs ,keep on them to get your bid in.

[echeandia]

I haven't done this yet as the season hasn't started yet but here is what I would do upon receiving the initial call: set up an appointment. I plan on meeting the homeowner this way I can determine if there are up sell opportunities. If they aren't there then I can't up sell. Then I go back to the office and work up the price. I will call them the next day to set up another appointment to go over exactly what I am proposing and try to get them to sign. If they want to sit on it fine. I wait a couple of days and call back.