#85 Never Break Down a Bid for a Customer/Here's Why
Feb 16, 2024
auto_awesome
Jered and Joel advocate against breaking down job bids, emphasizing the importance of presenting a comprehensive estimate. They discuss effective meeting strategies, discipline methods, and praising employees. They highlight the challenges of communication in service work and emphasize the need for a solid business foundation.
Providing a comprehensive, well-rounded estimate reflects the true worth of plumbing work and fosters trust with clients.
Offering options and clearly explaining the scope of work and pricing can address budget concerns and foster a positive customer-contractor relationship.
Itemizing materials and using an hourly rate for labor can lead to conflicts and revenue loss, while transparent estimates ensure profitability for the contractor.
Working on projects in remote areas requires effective communication, realistic timelines, and understanding customer expectations to avoid complications.
Deep dives
Simplify the bid process and avoid breaking down costs
When customers ask for a breakdown of the bid, it is best to avoid providing one. Giving a single lump sum estimate simplifies the process for both the contractor and the customer. Breaking down costs can lead to discrepancies in labor and materials, potentially causing conflicts if the job takes longer or materials differ from the breakdown. It is important to provide clear and transparent estimates with options for the customer to choose from based on their budget. This ensures fair pricing and avoids unnecessary complications.
The importance of clear communication and providing options
When customers ask for a breakdown, it may be because they want to negotiate or see if they can get a better deal. By offering options and clearly explaining the scope of work and pricing, contractors can address budget concerns and work towards finding a solution that fits the customer's needs. Breaking down costs into labor and materials can lead to misunderstandings and potential disputes. Providing options allows for open dialogue and collaboration, fostering a positive customer-contractor relationship.
Challenges and complexities of billing for materials and labor
Billing for materials separately from labor can present challenges in terms of accuracy and fairness. When materials are itemized, customers may question the quantities or brand choices, leading to potential conflicts. Additionally, using an hourly rate for labor can create inconsistencies and may result in contractors losing out on revenue. Properly marking up materials and providing transparent estimates helps cover overhead costs and ensures profitability for the contractor.
Contracting in remote areas and understanding customer expectations
Working on projects in remote areas, such as villages, can present unique challenges. Contractors must consider factors like limited access to materials, weather conditions, and logistical issues. Communication with customers in these remote areas becomes crucial to understand their expectations and limitations. It is important to establish realistic timelines and expectations to ensure a smooth process and avoid unexpected complications.
Building a Strong Business Foundation
The host emphasizes the importance of building a solid foundation for your plumbing business before hiring. This includes having proper pricing, effective marketing systems, and a customer service representative (CSR) in place. By focusing on these elements first, you create a strong business model that attracts quality employees and sets you up for long-term success.
Creating an Attractive Business
The podcast highlights the importance of making your business an attractive place to work. This involves offering competitive pay, great benefits, quality equipment, and a positive work environment. By creating a culture that values and supports employees, you can attract top talent and retain them in the long run.
Being Patient and Consistent
The host discusses the need for patience and consistency in entrepreneurship. He explains that it takes time to build a successful plumbing business and recommends focusing on a negative split approach, where you start slow but steadily increase momentum. Consistency, learning from failures, and continuously improving are key factors in achieving long-term success.
In this podcast, Jered and Joel, advocate against breaking down estimates and job bids within the plumbing industry. They argue that providing detailed breakdowns can undermine the value of their services. Instead, they emphasize the importance of presenting a comprehensive, well-rounded estimate that reflects the true worth of plumbing work, fostering trust and professionalism with clients while safeguarding profitability for the business.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode