# Opinions needed on Prescreening clients



## Mike's Plumbing (Jul 19, 2010)

katoman said:


> I agree with Mike on this. Sell Mercedes. I just finished a bathroom, total re-do $ 60,000. I'm not competing with the $4-6,000 bathroom guys.
> 
> Try to seperate yourself from the crowd and your competition will be fewer also. Like in Mikes' example the 4,000 people are not calling me, so there is not too much qualifying to do.
> 
> $6,000 ? The fixtures are more than that. :laughing:


....and I would say that's your doing. You made sure (on a company level) that the 2,000 customers would never call you.

On a deck though.....I can see Gregs point, BUT and that a big BUT, maybe it's still the fault of the company for not having this information available via a website or something. It always comes down to the company and how they market themselves.

Mike


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

Mike's Plumbing said:


> ....and I would say that's your doing. You made sure (on a company level) that the 2,000 customers would never call you.
> 
> On a deck though.....I can see Gregs point, BUT and that a big BUT, maybe it's still the fault of the company for not having this information available via a website or something. It always comes down to the company and how they market themselves.
> 
> Mike


Last deck I built was $75,000. :thumbup:


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

Mike, I think you are right on the money with this one. Sell Mercedes and the people with $2,000 won't even phone you.

But the guy who does call you, wants to spend lots of money on the Mercedes.

This is tied in with my ongoing rants about quality/skilled carpenters. To sell the high end work you need to be able to deliver. 

Oh, and we also need quality plumbers too :thumbsup:


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

"Oh, and we also need quality plumbers too"
Goody! I can handle that!.

http://www.contractortalk.com/members/tinner666-967/albums/kitchen-remodel/

I've got pix of a bath remodel around here somewhere too!.


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## Leafan (Aug 10, 2010)

katoman said:


> I agree with Mike on this. Sell Mercedes. I just finished a bathroom, total re-do $ 60,000. I'm not competing with the $4-6,000 bathroom guys.
> 
> Try to seperate yourself from the crowd and your competition will be fewer also. Like in Mikes' example the 4,000 people are not calling me, so there is not too much qualifying to do.
> 
> $6,000 ? The fixtures are more than that. :laughing:


Lol. Yes in a high end bathroom $6000 is just the tiles. Lol. But in my reality I have done quite a few low end 5'x8' bathrooms for $6000. They always turn out looking sweet. Like this one was a $6000 bathroom we kept the existing tub and vanity $2000 in slate. New faucet basic cosmetic Reno. 

I really want to do more high end stuff but I need to take whatever I can to ensure my family eats. Which is my biggest downfall. I know that much.


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

Just one of my bathroom remodels. The owner said his wife had to have a second bathroom just for her. He sent her out for a weekend back at home with her folks in WV. while I built her one.

I'm right proud of it and we got in some quality fishing time that weekend after I finished too.


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## Leafan (Aug 10, 2010)

tinner666 said:
 

> Just one of my bathroom remodels. The owner said his wife had to have a second bathroom just for here. He sent her out for a weekend back at home with her folks in V. while I built her one.
> 
> I'm right proud of it and we got in some quality fishing time that weekend after I finished too.


Wow. That's a sweet bathroom. I guess the fixtures were over $6000 on that one too. :laughing


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

"My leads usually come from advertising or my Facebook fan page. I have had a few referrals but I am only 2 years established now. I know the referrals will start coming eventually. My clients always write me glowing letters of referral"

You should also get your own .com. It also comes with your our .com e-mail addy too.

I don't know anybody who's been successful with a .web.com site


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

Dump this>" SORRY..... 



WE ARE BUSY AGAIN 

EVEN OUR WEBSITE 

IS UNDER 


CONSTRUCTION"

a proper site is ALWAYS under construction. Always. It will never be 'done'.

And when you get your own site going, concentrate on long tail keyword strings.

I doubt you would even use these search terms to find a site. "Construction,General Contractor,Toronto,Barrie,Ontario,kitchen,bathroom,custom shower,">
<meta name"

Think in terms of searchable word-phrase strings.


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

Some variation of those usable strings should also be in your content. 

Your Title> "title>Coombs Construction - Home</title>" Not much to search for there, nor is it descriptive.

An example> My title>title>Albert's Roofing Repairs | Slate Roof Repair and Window Flashing Co., Rich., Va.</title

Can you follow me? I'm not good with explanations to be honest.


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## Mike's Plumbing (Jul 19, 2010)

I see they went with the brushed SS upgrade on the toilet paper holder. Good job on the up-selling skills.:laughing:

Mike


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

Mike's Plumbing said:


> I see they went with the brushed SS upgrade on the toilet paper holder. Good job on the up-selling skills.:laughing:
> 
> Mike


It was hard. I had a limb with two roll holer branches figured into the cost and getting the $800.00 upgrade took about 40 minutes of tinman selling, but I got it done. :thumbup: I had to throw the bar oil in for free.

Whole project came in at just under $5K, which included moving lots of empty beer cans, leaves, and snakes out. The trailer supports (columns) needed some adjusting. I didn't lose any money on the job.


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## Leafan (Aug 10, 2010)

:laughing. Wow I love you guys. Haven't laughed so hard in a long time.


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## RNBI (Mar 6, 2011)

*Pre screening*

Most of my work is referred from previous customers. Every so often I get the cold call from a visitor on my website. The prospects that seem to be more serious are the ones that are willing to take time out of their work day to meet with me. The ones that say "I can meet you Saturday around 11:00, no earlier then that because I like to sleep in" usually aren't that interested. I also like to give them a task like pick out paint colors or pick up brochers on some items prior to our meeting. If they went out to get those items before we meet, we might be going somewhere.


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## Stephen H (Feb 18, 2011)

Mike's Plumbing said:


> I'm not so sure.
> 
> If a person has no clue maybe the company is to blame? Maybe the branding is so bad that the only thing a customer can see is the person does X.
> 
> ...


 mike- I usually agree with what you write- but I will have to disagree with your position on this one.
I am a roofing contractor.
I have a call on my answering machine this A.M. that came in over the weekend---------- guy wants to know if I RE-SURFACE BATHTUBS !
hard to imagine a scenario where a roofing contractor would be re-surfacing bathtubs----- but by your faulty logic--- it's MY fault that the caller is a moron, LOL !

Look at tinners Web site- by his own description he STILL has to do a certain amount of screening/qualifying over the phone- there really isn't a practical way out of it

the question is--- how to do it effectively, politely, professionally etc.

People don't know what they don't know---- and it isn't rational to expect otherwise

returning to the deck analogy-
let's say I am thinking of a deck.- maybe I attended a party at a friends house and enjoyed the outdoor space

so I get the number of the guy who built a deck for my friend and I call him----------

I don't really know what my options are- I have no idea what decks cost- but I might have some vague idea that treated lumber,Ipe,and synthetic materials all have different price points--- but I have no idea WHAT those prices might be

on some basic level i might assume that treated lumber cost less---- but I have no idea if a better choice cost 10% more--- or 150% more--- or what.
I just don't know

What i DO know--- is if I call that deck builder and I tell him---- " hey--- i was at a party a week or so ago at my friend tommy b.'s house and I really admired the deck you built for him---he reccomends you highly"---------and 2 sentences later the deck builder says" waada ya mean you are considering treated lumber OR synthetic?--sorry, no thanks"

what I KNOW--- is that the deck builder just lost himself a lucrative sale- because without an effective and professional screening system--- what HE didn't know that he didn't know is---- that I am a roofing contractor with a certain amount of success AND a wife in an established career AND we just finished putting our kids through 17 years of private schools AND we now have money to BURN on a project like this AND maybe I was thinking of a treated deck but it was going to be 6 times the size of my neighbors trex deck---or that maybe what I really would have bought was an Ipe deck etc. and so on and so on and so on

It's just not rational to posit that it's the deck builders fault that when I initially contact him I don't ALREADY know the price difference between treated and ipe.

Let's see--- I have a strong referrall AND I have seen the builders beautifull work---- but he is gonna kick me to the curb because I haven't ALSO looked at his web site prior to calling him?

I don't want to look at his web site--- what I want is to make an appointment, meet with the builder, get his professional and experienced input, discuss my options---and proceed

ALL of which the deckbuilder misses out on if he doesn't have a professional method of handling my intital call. He may be screening me---- but I am also screening HIM.

Best wishes,
stephen


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## Mike's Plumbing (Jul 19, 2010)

I can't fix stupid, if a guy calls a roofer to fix a bathtub that's pretty extreme. What I'm saying here is not about the extreme examples or the people who are complete morons........you always have that.

What I'm getting at is many companies have no real brand to speak of, no real advertising to speak of, and certain customers cling to these people. Sure you have the occasional issues and have to screen people, that will never go away. Again, that's not the point.

We can analyze all we want but companies with a strong brand...a leading brand in a market..........do far less screening than companies that have a weak market position.

Mike


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## Stephen H (Feb 18, 2011)

Mike's Plumbing said:


> I can't fix stupid, if a guy calls a roofer to fix a bathtub that's pretty extreme. What I'm saying here is not about the extreme examples or the people who are complete morons........you always have that.
> 
> What I'm getting at is many companies have no real brand to speak of, no real advertising to speak of, and certain customers cling to these people. Sure you have the occasional issues and have to screen people, that will never go away. Again, that's not the point.
> 
> ...


 that might well be a seperate issue entirely.
"A leading brand"--- or" THE leading brand" ?

being THE leading brand may not be a particularly good investment. Serving a niche market may well be more profitable----and the #5 or #10 guy in a particular market may actually be able to buy and sell the principal in the #1 brand within that market

the #1 guy may have trmendous name recoginition and also do a big,BIG volume

but the #10 guy may be making money hand over fist--- by cherrypicking his customer base( screening/pre-qualifying, niche market etc.)

Best wishes,-gotta go meet with a pre-screened/pre-qualified customer, LOL
stephen


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## J L (Nov 16, 2009)

Branding aside - and back to the OP's original question (because I'm in the same boat). What are some good questions to ask to help pre-screen clients? Also, what are some subtle tell tales that they aren't a good fit?

I just analyzed my numbers from last month. I looked at 19 jobs. 2 had no intention of ever doing work. 8 were either unrealistic or not a good match for our services. 2 were just keeping their preferred contractor honest. 7 were the real deal. Of those 7, I closed 4. And the other 3 are still open.

So how do I filter out the other 12 that aren't going to hire me anyway? I already ask questions like:
-How soon do you want your project done?
-How long have you been thinking about your project?
-How many other bids will you be receiving?
-Have you worked with a contractor before and if yes, is that contractor bidding this job?
-Why do you want to remodel right now?
-How much are you willing to invest in this project?

These questions helped me to filter through the 40 calls last month down to 19 appointments, but I still want to refine my processes further. 

I've tried charging for estimates. I did it for 3 months with no takers. I even had a script written up that I used to explain why we were doing it. We charge to look at real estate transactions - meaning someone who's looking to buy a house but doesn't already own it.

Will you guys go look at a job even if the client says they have no idea of a budget? Or how do you deal with that? I get that a lot and even when I throw out ballpark numbers, they just say "we'll see for sure when we get the quote" or something to that effect.

Any advice is appreciated.


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## jkonks (Aug 28, 2010)

tinner666 said:


> Just one of my bathroom remodels. The owner said his wife had to have a second bathroom just for her. He sent her out for a weekend back at home with her folks in WV. while I built her one.
> 
> I'm right proud of it and we got in some quality fishing time that weekend after I finished too.


 Sweet remodel!
Do we dare ask what they wanted with the bar and chain oil.:laughing:


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

One caller today needs a new built-in gutter. I told him he needed plenty of money, at least a bucket full. As I checked my costs, he said he had a bucketfull. After I looked over my costs, I told he needed two buckets. after about 5 minutes, he said he could do 2-1/2. I'll go look at that one.

Took on another project for an existing client.
Turned one caller down. ( Also turned one down Sun too.)
Another caller will be getting back tomorrow. We'll see.


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