Went on a sales call today.
I went in thinking this guy was a referal from my dentist … as he just asked the wife if any of the 3 Dr’s he gave my card to had called yet …
knew this guy worked at a hospital … so figured I’d find out for sure at the house call …
So after we talk a bit … I ask where he got my name.
Turns out … he saw my van in the parking lot of an EatNPark … think Pgh Denny’s …
and read the tag line … “Artistry in Carpentry” …. and thought I should be the first guy he cold called to take a look-see.
nothing big … but will make for an interresting little job. Fits the schedule …
all I gotta do is sell him my price …
but … I just left a post somewhere saying I never expected to get a call directly because of the van lettering … just got it to present a pro image and get a little more name recognition in neighborhoods where they see the job site signs.
as a bonus … this guy works in hospitals … and is friends with tons of Dr’s …
He sells and maintains specialized equipment … makes his living talking up rich guys.
So that’s one more vote for van lettering.
Jeff
Replies
Nice lead Jeff.
Nice marketing too.
That artistry hits an emotional cord. you won't be competing with anyone buy artists with this client.
Do you hit him with a firm price or offer alternatives such as a high price with a rigid fixed schedule and a second "flexible" discounted "fit it in my schedule' price?
It's been so long since I've talked to homeowners.....
blue
it's not enough work to get fancy with the pricing ...
he'll get one fixed price.
it's splitting an open plan raised ranch into seperate LR and DR ... both rooms still serve the same purpose ... just adding a coupla walls with columns and archways.
purely asthetic. Driving home ... I thot for one second I mighta shoulda pushed him a little more ... but things went so smooth I think I had the job after we talked a bit and he looked at the portfolio.
Will present the price next week ... guess I'll know for sure by then!
didn't feel like a "song and dance" kinda sales call ...
sometimes ya just feel like all ya gotta do is give an honest price, ya know?
we talked scheduling and he said they're ready asap ... but will wait till I can get to them.
now that I think about it ... went way too smooth for someone that read my name of the side of my van! Great ... now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop ... thanks!
Jeff
Ahh, guess what? Maybe doctors are different in PA, but up here, they don't hire the contractors, they let their wives do it. My wife is a nurse at a hospital, and I get very few jobs from there. And considering a lot of them are friends of hers, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. But good luck. (Docs can be tight-fisted SOBs as well, so make your sales pitch shine.)
Thats true Nick.
ONe of my longest negotiations was with a doctor (a brother of a friend) for a simple interior door ( interior french doors).
The guy wanted a price for labor only. I gave him my hourly rate and mentioned that since the job was so small, and it's not really worth it to do these type jobs, that I would warrant the labor only and....since I was working by the hour, I would not be responsible for the materials if something horrible went wrong (they were relatively expensive oak doors.)
The guy was flabbergasted that I wouldn't be willing to buy him a new door if I cut it wrong, or it fell over and broke.
I told him that I would be foolish to risk working on $1000 doors for the pittance I'd earn as a carpenter. If I was contracting and marking those doors up 50%, then I'd be willing to accept the risk.
We must have exchanged four or five phone calls debating this idea.
We finally settled on paying me an extra $100 to accept the risk.
I put the doors in without any problems.
blueIf you want to read a fancy personal signature... go read someone else's post.
I've had great luck the last coupla years with Doc's ....
actually ... seems like the last ... almost 3 years? ... all Ive worked for or have been hired to sub for have been dr's and lawyers.
aside from one lawyers wife ... all have gone great.
just part of my personality ... but I end up knowing just about everything about my clients .... and they end up knowling lots about me.
when dealing with "professionals" .... especially if I smell a "superior attitude" ... I let it slip I chose carpentry as a way to run my own business after I finished flight school and decided working for the airlines wasn't for me. Works especially well if I've recently heard them complaining about their boss ....
all doc's and lawyers secretly really wanted to be pilots ... levels the playing field a bit!
I just had a doc apologize when handing me the final check for "asking so many questions" ... I told him No Problem .... I have lotsa answers! On most jobs .. I don't get to explain all the details ... said there's actually a method and science to building ... the more people ask ... the more I can show I'm not just standing in their backyard making this up as I go.
Jeff
That's great you have tapped into such a market, something I've have wished I could do for a while, but there isn't a that many of them in this area; lots of chemists and nuclear types who prefer to do things themselves.
I know what you mean about the flight school line, not that I have flown anything more than a kite. I get asked often why I chose to do what I'm doing, as though I have to validate the decision. But it is my choice, and I often tell them what I did before, and that's the last I hear of it. Often, I get the inpression that being a carpenter/remodeler is not a vocation society thinks of when they think "success." But 'success' has a different definition for every individual; they have to live with theirs, I don't.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Jeff, building "bridges" with your clients is one of the most profitable activities you can do. Congrats. You probably do it naturally.
In my younger days, I was so focused on the work, that I neglected the social aspects of the job. I suffered financially as a result because I had a limited amount of people that would use me as a sub and also was limited as to the type of people that would hang with me. I've changed my ways and gladly will yap for as long as anyone wants to, even though my production suffers.
I should show you a few pics of my last few days production.....shameful.
blueIf you want to read a fancy personal signature... go read someone else's post.
I got a good lead a couple of weeks ago because a guy read my buisness T-shirt in an automobile repair shop. You just never know.