C
Colour Republic
WARNING!!! Waffle imminent
I know I’ve banged on about it before but it really pays to talk to your customer about what you plan to do and why.
This story relates to a paper hanging job I’ve just been given the go ahead on but the same applies to tiling.
Initial phone call was on Saturday, which went like this "Hello do you wall papering? yes.. ok we have 1 wall we need papering, it's about 10m long and is in a new build" - So no problem I tell them I’ll come out on Sunday to take a look. Now from the description given to me it sounds as though it's very straight forward and I could price it over the phone but I find this is very rarely the case and also it doesn't give me a chance to meet the customer and sell our services.
I get there and they show me the paper, it turns out it's a very high end Italian paper containing glass (the wallpaper cost in the region of £1200 for the one wall), see nothing is straight forward! and I’m glad I didn't give them a price over the phone. I'm quite excited by the paper and I have experience of them so it's not a problem. They later tell me that they watched for my reaction when showing me the paper and I was the only one that didn't flinch; apparently other decorators that had told them they could do it soon suddenly had a look of fear and became booked up for the next 6 months.:lol:
So we chat about the paper and what I would do, the man of the house mentions some key trade terms so I ask him if he is in the trade himself, it turns out he is a consultant to the firm that manufacturers the coverings and paid a token amount for it... hmmmm this guy could be worth getting to know, he shows me some new products they are bringing out, wallpaper flooring with a epoxy resin coating. I love all of this stuff so take a keen interest.
Anyway I start to measure up but notice he has his laptop out so I ask him if he's seen any of our work, no? Ok take a look at our website... he and his wife watch a slide show as measure up and I hear the Wife is impressed.
So I finish up and we chat just a little longer, by this time the wife is relaxed and asks her husband "should we show him the front room?” It turns out they want the front room doing as well but I got the impression they hadn't show any of the other companies, they were going to see how they got on with the single wall first.
We go into the front room and I point out tiny defects that could be tackled in different ways, each method taking considerably more time than another but with better results, it all depends on whether they would appreciate the attention to detail and craftsmanship or they wouldn't notice and would prefer the cheaper option. It turns out the wife is a little OCD like me and would notice the tiny details! The very fact I took the time to learn about my customer gets me lots of browie points.
So we sum up (I’ve been at the house for an hour now and all from what started as one wall!) as I go to leave they tell me straight - We've had a number of people round ranging from phone quotes without seeing the job, people running out of the house in fear and one other guy we liked but we're now leaning towards you.
I thank them and leave, I think that went very well and I liked them a lot.
A few hours ago I prepared the quote and emailed him, I then text him to say I've done so.
The text messages went like this...
"Hi xxxxx, just emailed the price over, sorry it took so long, kind regards, Rob - Colour Republic"
"Thanks Rob, Just looking for my oxygen tent but will be back in touch this evening!
" (Turns out I’m 3 x the price of the cheapest)
"I'm not sure if my public liability covers me for death by quote, so please take it easy!"
"You are part Sicilian so I wouldn't worry too much about it" (I mentioned my nationality when he should me the Italian papers)
Fast forward an hour and I get an email saying they'd love to work with me and can I go ahead and book the work in. Although they would like me to do it in 2 stages, the single wall first then the living room when their finances have recovered in a few months time. This now opens another option for me – I intend to offer them a deal, I shall do the single wall and if they are happy with it I would ask that he recommends us to any clients he sells the paper to, if that is successful then I shall knock off a hefty chunk of the labour charges relating to the living room, maybe even free as this is all high end stuff.
So the moral of the story is – Nothing is ever as it seems, I so easily could have done what others before me had:
Quoted over the phone and not been in with a chance.
Run from the house in fear.
Or I could have lost out to the guy who they already liked (who was also cheaper than me), but I made them like me more which opened the keys to the living room.
All this because I gave up an hour on Sunday, the opportunities for this to snowball are there to be had, I'm old and wise enough to know nothing may come from the recommendations but if you tackle every enquiry with all your enthusiasm you are at least opening doors to see what's behind them.
I know I’ve banged on about it before but it really pays to talk to your customer about what you plan to do and why.
This story relates to a paper hanging job I’ve just been given the go ahead on but the same applies to tiling.
Initial phone call was on Saturday, which went like this "Hello do you wall papering? yes.. ok we have 1 wall we need papering, it's about 10m long and is in a new build" - So no problem I tell them I’ll come out on Sunday to take a look. Now from the description given to me it sounds as though it's very straight forward and I could price it over the phone but I find this is very rarely the case and also it doesn't give me a chance to meet the customer and sell our services.
I get there and they show me the paper, it turns out it's a very high end Italian paper containing glass (the wallpaper cost in the region of £1200 for the one wall), see nothing is straight forward! and I’m glad I didn't give them a price over the phone. I'm quite excited by the paper and I have experience of them so it's not a problem. They later tell me that they watched for my reaction when showing me the paper and I was the only one that didn't flinch; apparently other decorators that had told them they could do it soon suddenly had a look of fear and became booked up for the next 6 months.:lol:
So we chat about the paper and what I would do, the man of the house mentions some key trade terms so I ask him if he is in the trade himself, it turns out he is a consultant to the firm that manufacturers the coverings and paid a token amount for it... hmmmm this guy could be worth getting to know, he shows me some new products they are bringing out, wallpaper flooring with a epoxy resin coating. I love all of this stuff so take a keen interest.
Anyway I start to measure up but notice he has his laptop out so I ask him if he's seen any of our work, no? Ok take a look at our website... he and his wife watch a slide show as measure up and I hear the Wife is impressed.
So I finish up and we chat just a little longer, by this time the wife is relaxed and asks her husband "should we show him the front room?” It turns out they want the front room doing as well but I got the impression they hadn't show any of the other companies, they were going to see how they got on with the single wall first.
We go into the front room and I point out tiny defects that could be tackled in different ways, each method taking considerably more time than another but with better results, it all depends on whether they would appreciate the attention to detail and craftsmanship or they wouldn't notice and would prefer the cheaper option. It turns out the wife is a little OCD like me and would notice the tiny details! The very fact I took the time to learn about my customer gets me lots of browie points.
So we sum up (I’ve been at the house for an hour now and all from what started as one wall!) as I go to leave they tell me straight - We've had a number of people round ranging from phone quotes without seeing the job, people running out of the house in fear and one other guy we liked but we're now leaning towards you.
I thank them and leave, I think that went very well and I liked them a lot.
A few hours ago I prepared the quote and emailed him, I then text him to say I've done so.
The text messages went like this...
"Hi xxxxx, just emailed the price over, sorry it took so long, kind regards, Rob - Colour Republic"
"Thanks Rob, Just looking for my oxygen tent but will be back in touch this evening!
" (Turns out I’m 3 x the price of the cheapest)"I'm not sure if my public liability covers me for death by quote, so please take it easy!"
"You are part Sicilian so I wouldn't worry too much about it" (I mentioned my nationality when he should me the Italian papers)
Fast forward an hour and I get an email saying they'd love to work with me and can I go ahead and book the work in. Although they would like me to do it in 2 stages, the single wall first then the living room when their finances have recovered in a few months time. This now opens another option for me – I intend to offer them a deal, I shall do the single wall and if they are happy with it I would ask that he recommends us to any clients he sells the paper to, if that is successful then I shall knock off a hefty chunk of the labour charges relating to the living room, maybe even free as this is all high end stuff.
So the moral of the story is – Nothing is ever as it seems, I so easily could have done what others before me had:
Quoted over the phone and not been in with a chance.
Run from the house in fear.
Or I could have lost out to the guy who they already liked (who was also cheaper than me), but I made them like me more which opened the keys to the living room.
All this because I gave up an hour on Sunday, the opportunities for this to snowball are there to be had, I'm old and wise enough to know nothing may come from the recommendations but if you tackle every enquiry with all your enthusiasm you are at least opening doors to see what's behind them.
