Picture it, you’re with your buddies watching football and they ask, “How do you win customers?” or “What’s the best way to win customers?” After thinking about it for a moment, how do you answer?
You might say, top-notch customer service or shining testimonials. And while these answers are all good, they aren’t the best. The best way is through a clear, professional estimate.
High-quality estimates communicate three things that help win customers over: your strong handle on services, your professionalism and your transparency.
But how do you achieve all that in a single document? Below we review everything you need to know to create powerful HVAC estimates.
Customers need more than just a convincing tagline to choose a business. A solid estimate can show that your business is the right choice.
Here are the main benefits of using professional HVAC estimates:
It’s that last benefit that really does it — win and retain more customers.
That alone is the best reason to start providing your potential customers with a professional estimate after every call or meeting.
A quality estimate should answer a customer's initial questions upfront. Once an estimate has been provided, there should not be much back and forth.
Make sure to also ask all your questions within your opening conversation with a customer. Calling a customer twice or more to walk through forgotten questions will not only waste their time but also give the impression that you don't have a strong handle on your business.
There’s no such thing as including “too much” information in your estimate. The more info you give your customer, the more confident they will feel in their decision to choose your business.
[thrive_leads id='2186']
As an HVAC professional, you likely know the difference between an estimate and an invoice. Your customers though may not recognize that distinction. To avoid unnecessary confusion, it's vital to make the differences clear between the two documents.
From a quick glance, the customer should understand the first document they receive before a job is the estimate (a prediction of how the work will play out), while the second one they receive after the job is the invoice (the final statement based on what actually happened).
Here are some great ways to establish the difference:
Being as straightforward and transparent as possible with the outline of your documents can substantially mitigate any confusion or problems with the final invoice.
Want to make your HVAC invoices as professional as your estimates? Learn more here.
The best way to generate great HVAC estimates is with the use of powerful HVAC estimating software.
Producing hand-written estimates takes, and wastes, too much time. It also opens the door for many human errors -- the quickest way to establish yourself as unprofessional.
FieldPulse HVAC software makes it incredibly easy to start providing your customers with professional, electronic documents. On top of that, you don’t have to go back to the office to make the estimate, you can email it to the customer right on the spot during an in-person meeting or while still on the first phone call.
Sound good? Try FieldPulse Free for 14-days!