During a recent conversation with the owner of a household cleaning business, they revealed, “I am just uncomfortable with providing a customer with an estimate online.” I have to admit that this was not the first time I heard this concern when discussing Compass Wave’s Online Estimation Tool. Typically this apprehension stems from the fact that a service is best priced by speaking with the person that is requesting the service and/or seeing the place where the service will be performed. However, having the ability to provide prospective customers with an ESTIMATED RANGE for your services can open the door for you to move forward with a prospective customer in developing a more precise quote.

To further explain, we must consider the difference between an estimate and a quote. An estimate is an APPROXIMATE calculation of the price of a service to be provided while a quote, on the other hand, is a SPECIFIC calculation of the price of a service to be provided.

It is made clear on all Compass Wave estimates provided to prospective customers that the estimate is only an estimated range. All our estimates have a statement that says, “Note: The prices listed above are estimated based on assumptions about your residence and your service needs. We will be contacting you to make an appointment to walk through your home and provide you with a quote for your desired services.”

Also, we allow service companies to set a range for their estimates. This gives them a big target to hit when attempting to estimate the price of a service provided.

We feel that by clearly indicating to the consumer of services that they are only receiving an approximate range of the price of the service to be provided, business managers can feel comfortable utilizing the estimate tool.

Gives your consumers what they want – an instant estimate for the services they desire.

It has been a difficult year for many of us.  Sales revenue is down, margins are down and the companies that were once dumb, fat and happy are now cash-strapped, frustrated and, well….still dumb.  Yes it’s a crappy economy and unemployment is at an all-time high, I will give you that.  But so what? Yeah, I said it – so what?!  Your market has shrunk, but so have the number of competitors.  Many businesses folded because they did not or could not find ways to add value to their core products and services.  They did not accept the fact that change was necessary.  It is not too late for your company to evolve its identity in this industry.  Here are thoughts to consider as you re-identify your company in today’s sales atmosphere.

What worked for your sales team last year, won’t necessarily work this year

The landscape is always changing and you need to adjust accordingly.  Hitting your sales projections last year was a great accomplishment, Continue reading Death of a (traditional) Salesman →