Virtual Quoting in Construction - Toronto Entrepreneurship

In this video and page, we talk about why we chose a virtual quoting strategy instead of an in person quote.

Jump Links
Our MissionAdvantages Of Virtual Quoting
Disadvantages Of Virtual Quoting
Conclusion

In order to answer the question as to why we chose to go virtual, we first have to talk about why we started PatchBoyz. We started PatchBoyz because we saw a problem. We saw lots of people that needed to get their drywall repaired. They didn't have a big job to offer the Drywall contractor. So the contractor, if she so desired, would go to the home and quote the client, usually too much. Then, they would tell the client that they would come on friday if they had time after their big job. So it was evident that this job was of secondary importance to the contractor. We won't get into how that makes the client feel, but you can imagine. The worst part is yet to come, however.

Friday would roll around and the home-owner would wait all afternoon, only for the contractor to not show-up, because the "more important" job went on a little longer than expected.

It was, and remains our mission to help these people.

For a company that relies on a high volume of smaller jobs, the benefit should be obvious. But let's first circle back to our goal. We wanted to provide a quality and affordable service to those that weren't getting it due to the contractor not being interested.

Being a high volume business, we do dozens of quotes a day. In order to go to one or two dozen homes in a day, we would have to hire multiple sales people. These sales people would have to have knowledge of mudding. These are very sought after people and don't come cheap. Additionally, they would have to be presentable and tech savvy enough to use our systems. We would likely have to compensate this person with commissions of more than $100 per job and likely compensate for gas. So let's say $110 to $200 per job. That would defeat the goal of giving an affordable service.

Here's a list of the advantages we've found by offering remote quoting:

• Cost savings that we pass onto the customer
• Environmentally friendly (not driving to 12-24 houses in a day)
• Faster quoting
• Better customer service (the office staff work together to answer calls and leave no one behind)
• No late arrivals to appointments
• Estimators make less mistakes since there are less distractions (no driving

While there are more advantages to virtual quoting, if done right, there are still some disadvantages. Let's talk about those and how to potentially overcome them.

Reduced ability to sell

If the client is a hard-core face-to-face toes-to-toes kind of person, it is hard for them to choose you if you don't go. If they're the type of person that want to see your face as you make the promises that your company lives by, it might be a little hard to win this client.

Overcoming Reduced ability to sell

The way to do a better job at overcoming this is to set up a virtual meeting through facetime or google duo or some other video conferencing app. Here's a Key point. BE ON TIME. If you can't be on time to a meeting from your desk, you're not making a great first impression.

Losing the job to other contractors

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you will lose these jobs because someone else went there. You had no chance.

Overcoming losing the job to other contractors

If the customer is kind enough to let you know that she went with another contractor, the best thing you can do is be polite and thank them for giving you the opportunity to quote and let them know that if they change their mind for whatever reason, you would be happy to get them booked in no time. Don't make them feel bad for choosing the other contractor. We've all had to make these kinds of decisions. Make them feel comfortable with that decision and make them feel like you've got their back if they discover that they've made the wrong decision (the other contractor). Have a look at the top drywall contractors in the GTA

Missed details

It can happen that by using virtual quoting, you missed something. Whether it be that the customer didn't send you a picture of that item or that the picture wasn't clear enough or even that your computer monitor / device didn't have a good enough resolution to show you what was there, this has to be considered.

Overcoming missed details

There are several ways not to paint yourself in a corner.

Quantify

Quantify how many of x you are doing. use measurements if possible. That way you are not doing a 200ft something when you thought it was a 5ft something.

Clauses

Explain that nothing is implied in your quotes. Only that which is stated in the quote is to be done.

Explain that pictures are part of the contract

Make it known that you're only fixing that which is in the pictures. If there's more to it, they need to let you know, as you've never been there.

Better resolution

It is worth spending money on a high resolution monitor. Otherwise things will get missed over and over and these missed items will equate to mistakes in the many thousands, over time. It's best to spend several hundred on a great monitor.

While this list is by no means extensive, we hope it does give you an insight into virtual quoting and the benefits and drawbacks to it. We hope we've adequately explained the wonderful benefits that can be passed onto your customers / our customers by using it. Even though they may not be able to see it.

All the comparisons with other contractors made here are with real contractors, not one man shows. A one man show can do things cheaper, but often times is less reliable and may not have a name and reputation to protect.