Selling over phone without meeting customer?

[N.TX]

I was just curious how many of you sell your service over the phone when you get a call rather then going out and giving an estimate. I started back up from scratch this yr and almost half of my customers I didnt meet for the first couple months i was mowing for them .. a couple i still havent met... I will still go do an estimate occasionally when its not in a neighborhood im familer with but for the most part it saves me alot of time and effort doing it over the phone. I always tell them .. we generally charge .. say 30 dollars for a yard in the neighborhood. Questions I ask them 1. Is the yard flat or hills ?
2. Are you on a corner or a culdosack? 3. Is front and back yard average size as the rest in the neighborhood? ( which they almost always say yes ... but if its not it at least gives me a reason to neg. a price with them) I dont usually ask about trees because the small neighborhoods gernerally all have about the same .... 2 or 3 small trees and thats it. I also explain to them that it should be about the price quoted but if theres any reason it should be more ... ill mow it the first time for the price quoted then call them and tell them i need to charge XX$ more

[dcwalker]

I never give a price with out seeing the lawn first. I have done lawns without meeting the owner a couple of times but I went and looked at the lawn and called them back with a price before cutting it. i try to at least meet all my accounts at some point. I like to know who I'm dealing with. Last year I told a lady that called me what I charge for an average lawn and of course she said, "yes, it's about average." When i went to see it it was a corner lot and it was on 3 lots. It was a small house and all the rest was grass that hadn't been cut in a month. When I gave her the price she said, "But you said on the phone blah blah blah." I reminded her that she also told me it was average size which obviously it wasn't and I had only given her an estimate. I still did it for her at my price but now I never give an estimate unless seeing the lawn first.

DC

[GrassMaster]

I used to do it...

I would try to pre-qualify customers over the phone, because about 50% were price shoppers. If I thought they were I would reassure them that my prices would be higher. Also after my third year we only did major cleanups & year round maintenance agreements.

It saved me a lot of time!

[Allan]

Phone quotes are the way to go. I do all of my quotes this way. If the customer misrepresents their property, then the price is adjusted accordingly. It sure saves a lot of driving time.

[PNA]

I give most of my quotes over the phone. If something sounds like it may not be an "average" lot, I tell them than I need to see it before I give a price. Then again, in my area, the properties are very very similar. I did drive around a lot when I first started in this business but now I find I just don't have that much time....
PNA

[Ric]

I give most of my quotes over the phone. If something sounds like it may not be an "average" lot, I tell them than I need to see it before I give a price. Then again, in my area, the properties are very very similar. I did drive around a lot when I first started in this business but now I find I just don't have that much time....
PNA

PNA

Got to agree most neighborhoods here have cookie cutter size lots. Once you know the area you can bid them all the same for certain services. However I am sure you have arrived to find that retired Old F**T who has ever statue and flamingo he can find all over his yard I always leave myself an out when bidding over the phone. But will agree with GM about qualifying them over the phone.

https://WWW.JUSTMOWIT.COM

TJ is a very successful Mow & Go contractor in the Dallas Texas area and never actually sees 90% of the yards his crews mow. I believe he has a 36 Cut season and does well over a Million in sales each year with a 28 to 30 % profit margin.

Before you want to call him a Low Baller read his entire website and look at his operation and Equipment. BTW I have taken the time to talk with about his operation. He is a very nice guy and was more than open about the way he does things. His advertisement works out to cost him about $ 100.00 per new customer. That cost doesn't include chasing out to the house to give a bid, because he does do that. If you are looking to buy a route you might keep that cost figure in mind.

The reason I talked with TJ was I though maybe I could do the same thing with straight Ant spray in my market. However decided against trying it because my Market area was not anywhere near as hot as his. When we look at building a business our Marketing area should be the first consideration.

[Getter Done Lawn]

i alway meet the lawn first.... i do mow a few accts where i haven't met the customer though

[PNA]

What I do is ask them about the property in question; conc. curbing, trees, on the water, fencing, steep hills, swing set, dogs, kids, etc. In a minute or two, you can learn a lot if you ask the right questions. Based on the answers, I decide if I need to look before I give a price. For the most part it works out fine for me. If things are NOT the way it was represented to me, the cost will change.

[Blake]

I will give an estimate over the phone but I make sure we agree that it is just that, an estimate.