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A chat with my plumber buddy made me stop giving free estimates.
We were grabbing a beer after a job last week and he asked how many quotes I give out for free. I said maybe ten a month. He looked at me and said, 'You're running a business, not a charity. My time costs $95 an hour just to show up.' That hit different because I was losing half a day every week to people who never called back. Now I charge a $50 consult fee that goes toward the job if they book. Anyone else switch to paid estimates and did it cut down on the tire-kickers?
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the_sage14d ago
I used to give free quotes too, but charging a small fee really filters out the people who aren't serious. How long did it take you to see a change in your client quality?
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flores.mark14d ago
Honestly I've never charged for quotes and I still get great clients. It's more about how you talk to people from the first message. If you set clear expectations right away, the tire-kickers usually weed themselves out. I found that a small fee just made me lose out on some good jobs because folks didn't want the hassle. The change for me was instant when I just got better at explaining my process upfront.
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