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A guy in Toledo told me to stop doing free estimates, and after 6 months I owe him lunch
Back in 2019 I was giving free estimates every single time, drives to Bowling Green and back, 2 hours, no charge. My old landlord Rick ran a plumbing shop and told me to start charging $40 for on-site quotes, said people who pay for your time show up and the tire kickers stay home. I did it, lost maybe 3 calls that first quarter but my close rate went way up and I stopped burning Saturday mornings. Now I'm wondering if I should charge more, anyone else mess with estimate fees lately?
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maryr4311h ago
I don't know man, charging for estimates feels like it could blow up in your face depending on your market. Like yeah it worked for you in Toledo but that's a smaller area where people expect to pay for a guy's time, in a bigger city folks will just call the next guy on the list who does it free. The close rate thing makes sense on paper but you also said you lost calls, so did you really come out ahead or did it just feel that way? Six months is a short window too, I'd want to see a full year before deciding to bump it up more. Rick bought you lunch, not a new truck, so maybe pump the brakes before you scare off the folks who were actually paying you.
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