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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 83
E
Member
How do you set your business apart?

As I am sure everyone knows by now, I, like Mahlere and LK want to see the electrical industry improve their project profitability.

Finding profitable work is always the challenge.

As LK has pointed out time and time again, the key is effective advertising to find enough leads to talk too. Then, you can qualify your leads to find the ones that you want to work with.

Thats right, WANT to work with. If you only have one or two clients to talk too, you end up fighting to win the work on their terms not yours.

I found a letter that one remodelling contractor uses to set himself apart from his competitors. In it, he declines the opportunity to enter the bid process and instead offers reasons why they don't bid projects. Then they thank the potential client and express their interest in working with them, if they wish to change the process they are using to choose their contractor.

Check it out here: http://www.housingzone.com/contents/documents/pr00la013a.doc

As I have learned myself, you do have the right to fire a client. The right to choose who you want to work with. The right to make a profit!

Glen
ExpressQuote Business Solutions
"Coaching contractors in the skills of estimating for higher profits!"

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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 507
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The right to make a profit!

Blasphemy!

Joined: May 2005
Posts: 706
T
Member
His web address came up empty. I wonder if this approach was really effective.

IMO we all do more free estimates during slow times and choose our jobs when it's busy.

Dave

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 39
B
Member
Tiger I wholeheartly agree with you. I am in the business of making money not giving it away to low budget clients. I have FIRED several customers and walked away from more than I care to remember. When they ask if we give free estimates I send them to my competition. However when times get slow we send out a few estimates to those low priced customers.
In the office there is a running joke, a constant potental customer continualy asks for quotes on his machine shop revamping. We have done 5 quots so far with the price going higher with every quote.On the last quote he asked why the price keeps getting higher. I said "Now you get it." He called again yesterday for another quote. I guess he didn't get it.


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