Guides / Selling
How to win more estimates
Price matters less than painters think. On most residential jobs the customer is choosing between two or three companies whose numbers are not far apart, and the decision is made on everything other than the number.
1. Be first, by a lot
The company that quotes first is frequently the company that wins, because they are the only one the customer has talked to while the problem is still urgent. Every day of delay adds competitors to a comparison you are not present for.
A quote sent from the driveway arrives while you are still the person they just met and liked. The same quote three days later arrives as an attachment from a stranger.
This is the single biggest lever available and it is entirely within your control.
2. Make the document look like a company
Two quotes, similar prices: one is a text message with a number, the other is a document with the scope broken out room by room, the products named, the coats stated and the exclusions clear. The second wins, and it wins at a higher price.
This is not about design. It is that a detailed quote demonstrates you understood the job, and a number alone demonstrates nothing. The customer cannot assess your cutting-in, so they assess what they can see.
3. Let them see the result
Photographs of comparable work, and where it helps, a mockup of their own property in the color they are considering. A customer who can see the outcome is no longer buying a service on trust.
It also moves the conversation away from price and onto the thing they actually want, which is the room looking different.
4. Remove the steps between yes and yes
Every action you require between "we'd like to go ahead" and the job being booked is an opportunity for it to not happen. Printing, signing, scanning, calling back during business hours, arranging a deposit by bank transfer — each one loses a percentage.
A quote the customer can approve by clicking, and pay from in the same place, converts better than one that requires a conversation, and it does it while they are still enthusiastic.
5. Follow up, because most people do not
A large share of unanswered quotes are winnable by asking again. Most of your competitors never do. The follow-up guide has a sequence that works.
What not to do
Do not win on price. A close rate bought by being cheapest selects for customers who chose you on price and will leave you for the same reason, and it fills your schedule with the work that makes the least money.
If your close rate is above about 70 percent, the problem is probably not that you need to win more.
Questions
How can I win more painting jobs without lowering my price?
Quote faster, make the document detailed enough to show you understood the job, show the customer the result, and make accepting it a single click. Price is rarely the deciding factor between comparable bids.
Does quoting faster really matter?
It is the largest lever most companies have. Quoting first means being the only company the customer has spoken to while the problem is urgent; every day of delay adds a competitor to a comparison you are not present for.
What close rate should I aim for?
If you are above roughly 70%, winning more is probably not your problem — being underpriced is.
Where this stops being arithmetic
Aerys prices a job from your own catalog and production rates, sends it with an accept link and the invoice already attached, and then compares what the job actually cost against what you quoted — by task, while the job is still running.