i have been doing it on-site 95% of the time.

today is a GREAT reason to fax the price and never give it on-site.

setup a job on the phone a little while ago. looking over their file, in my head excited about the money i'd make. i'm adding up the numbers and see i forgot to add on the quote a sizable area! more than a thrid of the carpet i forgot to add into my pricing. but i already gave them the prices weeks ago.

so now i have to eat it.

i dunno how i missed it, i had the number sq.footage written down for this particular area, i just over looked it.

anyone else ever done this?

my only hope is, they don't stick tp the agreed upon quarterly cleaning and i can then up the price to the correct place.

thanx --- Derek.

Derek,

It depends on the size of the job. I have several 3000-5000 sq ft jobs that I do 2-4 times per year.I call them quarterly and thier is no contract. If it is a big job I always do my homework and put togethet a Maint package that they can't refuse. the more I clean the lower the price goes.

We have all cleaned carpet for free or jobs we would never had taken had we seen the carpet first. I always like to do an estimate first but thier are times when someone will say can you just come and clean it. I give them a price and sure enough its bigger than they told me or its stained beyond cleaning. but hey a pay day is a pay day..



Ralph

Derek,

I did an estimate for a customer with a big house and realized, when I was preparing their invoice that I did some incorrect math on the estimate and overcharged her $50. I decided to charge her the corrected amount when I did the job. They have had me back a couple times since then and also recommended me to their neighbor. I guess honesty is the best policy...Maybe you can point out your error to your customer and see if they are willing to accept an adjustment the next time you clean.

Bob

Derek that's unfortunate that you goofed on the proposal. I've done that before too. You may have to eat it. If you're charging a set price for the square footage however, you could just say "you know something doesn't look right here, I need to remeasure your building again because think I might have made a mistake". Then when you have the new price, be willing to trim some off of it since they were expecting a lower price already.

To answer your original question. I've always preferred to fax the proposal. The only time I've done a price quote and proposal on the spot is for very small jobs, (and I never really wanted to go after these types of accounts if I could help it).

I think it sounds professional to tell them, "I'm going to head back to the office and put the proposal together for you and I'll fax it over to you this afternoon. And if everything looks good just sign it and fax it back to our office."

This approach has been what's worked best for me. Going back to the office affords you enough time to relax and give thought to your proposal. It takes the pressure off. And you'll be less likely to overlook something.

Just my .02






Rick Gelinas
encapman

Rick makes a good point. The least professional way is to simply cast a glance around the premises, then say "That'll be $1250." You are more likely to impress your prospect if you tell them that you'll sit down tonight, look over the situation, then fax (or e-mail) them a proposal (NOT an estimate). This way, you'll also benefit from the workings of your subconscious mind, which will be (unknown to you) working on some of the job elements that require actual thinking. Then, when you sit down to actively think it out, and prepare a proposal, you'll do a better job.

I ALWAYS if possible meet, measure, demo, etc... then tell them I will go back to the office and put together a proposal that contains any options they request or that I think they would like. Quotes for quarterly, monthly, etc.. I then add a nice cover sheet and a sheet with references of businesses similar to theirs that I clean. I then put one of those nice clear plastic report covers around it from office max and go back and hand deliver it with a spotting bottle. This accomplishes many things.

1. NO one around my area has EVER seen someone do this. I hear this all the time. "Wow, the other guys just handed us a handwritten estimate on the spot"

2. Gives them a chance to ask anymore questions face to face.

3. If they balk at your price instead of just calling someone else whose quote looks cheaper you have a chance right there to throw out some back up options. Maybe change frequencys or do less areas. (I had one large account that I had to redo thier proposal 3 times before it could fit in his budget. The original monthly price was too high for his budget, but he really wanted to work with me. We worked with him and he decided to pay more for the first month as a one time repair under his budget, then put us on the monthly maintence line in the budget. Kept him under budget and put more money upfront in my pocket!)

4. I have been able to close about 90% of my estimates this way!

One other thing if they mention during the demo that they need to talk it over with board members just ask how many will be there. Bring that many proposal copys. I bet it looks nice them sitting in a board room discussing who to use and everyone has a copy of your proposal in front of them.

Back when I wore a younger mans clothes, I sat in the boardroom and helped make decesions on who would get the contract. We had the contractors bid on a set of specifications drawn up by us. Do they not do that anymore? After I left the Corporate world and stated the CC biz. My first big job was to bid on a 3 yr. carpet maintenance program of 320000 sq. ft. At our first meeting I asked for a set of job specifications. They all looked at each other dumbfounded. Soooo they asked me if I would draw up a set to go out for bid (hehehe) They had to get 3 bids. Well I drew up the specs. and I got the bid. How simple is that? Don't you just love America?