My New Instant Quote for my website.

jon chapman said:
i like the idea, but it leaves too many things out of consideration. amount of cleaning necessary- light or heavy, access points to property, stories, angles of access to high points. Just too many things to leave out and even with a disclaimer, once you quote someone a price, its hard to change it when you get to the property.
Plus, think of this: you get a job based on the online qoute, you clean it and get two people on the block who ask you for quotes which you provide on the spot. They later look at your site and see the quick quote that is different based only on the square footage they put in. Again, too many thing left out in the quick quote formula.
Click to expand...

Responsibid has most of these senerios in it
 
This has potential, the resposibid does look great..i tried to get the guy to call me and talk about tweaking it toward my work..but like jon said there will need to be an outstanding amount of variables that might bore the customer...i could definately see it working as a ...the starting price for these operations would be....and then theres some wiggle room on all parts...i saw a window cleaning guy using responsibid and groupon together and it made SENSE...he got 250 contacts all looking at his website to get bids...in florida prolly at least half was competitor. but he sold 80 jobs with an average of $220 per job (window cleaning mind you) and he didnt have to make one call or estimate in person...i could live with that..i hate groupon and living social as you have to pay way to much for potentailly cheap cusotmers, so in no way am i endorsing them and the responsibid is alot of money, but it the returns justify the cost then who am i to say its too much. but i would have a programmer code a page on your website like carolina clean is doing for way cheaper
 
How do you price these variables? Stories,dirtyness,etc.? I try to keep things simple with my business. My prices cover things like multiple stories etc. If I think it's going to cost a lot more then what the instant quote says I'll tell the customer. It is what it is.
 
You've got a go at it with the commercial license button that adds a flat rate or percentage or whatever...i would adjust for things like dirtiness ...ie...when was the last time cleaned 6months-1yr or more than one year+ just like you did the commercial license...that feature on your website can help you to overcome some of the people that just don't want to bother talking to someone about what they need and can sell a job for you without you spending a minute of your time once its setup...
heres an idea ..you can have a basic price page for basic parameters ...then have a little flashing button on bottom saying advanced pricing where they can play till there hearts content..that way mainstream will get the quick and dirty and the "consumer" customer can get the nitty gritty of the whole project..plus that makes you look a little more credible when you can metion things like this to them rather than being the guy that just eyeballs it and says oh ya it costs this much..let your proffesionalism always show and it will bring more money on that invoice
 
Ya the contact info first is definitely key....that way even if they don't buy you know there interested and can contact them to measure there level of interest and where they will be comfortable at doing business..so justin is the program your using the same as a typical web page building program or is it software within software?
 
Booked my first job from this today. $500 plus he wants a estimate on gutter protection. I updated it so I will capture the customers info first that way I can market to them if they don't buy right away. Still trying to figure out what route to take with the window cleaning instant quote.
 
Just a thought...How many homeowners will know what softwashing is? The pic you use is ambiguous. I would say "housewashing" and show a house being washed.

FYI, I've been pricing by the square foot for years (I give phone quotes) and most people will know their square footage. Personally, I don't differentiate between 1 or 2 stories or the amount of dirt. Some are easier, some are harder, but they average-out. On driveways, I ask how many cars it will hold. Of course, my area is flat, so it would be very rare for me to encounter a house that I couldn't reach with 8 GPMs.
 
Yeah I like quoting by sq. ft. I have customers asking if I soft wash witch is pretty funny.

I too don't differentiate between 1 or 2 stories. If the mildew is really I might up the price a little bit. I had a stucco house that took twice as long as it should have.

Concrete I just tell them my per sq. ft. price and that's worked so far.

John Orr said:
Just a thought...How many homeowners will know what softwashing is? The pic you use is ambiguous. I would say "housewashing" and show a house being washed.

FYI, I've been pricing by the square foot for years (I give phone quotes) and most people will know their square footage. Personally, I don't differentiate between 1 or 2 stories or the amount of dirt. Some are easier, some are harder, but they average-out. On driveways, I ask how many cars it will hold. Of course, my area is flat, so it would be very rare for me to encounter a house that I couldn't reach with 8 GPMs.
Click to expand...
 
I like where you guys are going with this and when it really started to get good the discussion just stopped! (Edit.. I didn't go to the next page of posts) With the instant estimate you have to realize that this is unique or rare in our industry and to the end user is a convenience for which they will pay a premium for. This premium over time will more than cover the cost of any surprises you will run into, plus you can enhance the customers expectations regarding any additional costs such as ladder work, detailing or spot removal. High end customers will pay for convenience and peace of mind. That being said, the main thing we need is to know, is the customer is in the market and committed to using us for their service needs? Example: When someone asks how much something is, like a car, you first want to know if they want the car. Because if they don't WANT the car, they are just tire kicking and the price doesn't matter because you won't get a sale.

Bottom line
The convenience factor will capture a significant segment of the market and yield profit for the ones who provide the receptacle for your consumer to plug into. You just have to tell em' to, "plug it in"! haha!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top