If you want to charge good prices for your building projects you will often not be the cheapest quote that a potential client receives.

So you need ways to help persuade potential clients to spend their money with you instead of your competitors. And a key factor in persuading clients to spend money with you is the type of quotes you give them.

When it comes to quotes most tradespeople do the same thing.

They will list the work that needs doing, the materials that may be needed and they will then give a price for the job.

Now if three tradespeople give a quote that looks similar to all their competitors what will a potential client look at?

That’s right, the price.

Now you don’t want to be the cheapest price because it means you will make very little money for a building project. Your goal is to make a good margin on a building project and still get the work.

You do this by positioning your quote as being different from other quotes. You want to stand out from all your competitors. And this is very simple to do:

Step One: Add three heading for each quote.

And then write 2-3 paragraphs about each heading. The three headings you add to your quotes are:

1: Your current situation

2: Your ideal outcome

3: My recommendations

Let me explain each heading.

Your current situation:

Here you write down the ‘before’ picture of the work you are quoting on.

This just means you describe the existing situation that your client is in and why they are considering having some work done by your type of business.

Here’s an example for a painter…

Your current situation:

You have just bought your dream house that you really like. You plan to live it in for many years. However, the inside of this house is a colour you don’t like and it makes the house look dark and gloomy. You want to spruce up the inside of your home but you don’t have a large budget to do major renovations.

Your ideal outcome:

Here you write down details of the ‘after’ picture that your client wants by having some painting done.

E.g. Your ideal end result is that you want to have a modern looking home on the inside without spending a fortune on renovations. You want it to look and feel light and airy and open. And you want colours that go well with your existing furniture. You want the inside of your home to feel warm and friendly and you want the colours to make your furniture look great.

My recommendations:

Here you give your quote in detail.

E.g. I recommend you do ABC etc. The price is $X and includes xyz etc. (This is very similar to what you do in your normal quotes.)By adding these three headings you show your potential client that you have a good understanding of their situation and what they are trying to achieve by using your services. If you have asked some questions in the first meeting with clients it will be very easy to write a paragraph or two about each heading.

Step Two: The other things you want to include in your Million Dollar Quotes are testimonials from delighted clients. (And depending on the type of work you do you may also want to include some before and after photos of jobs you done for other clients.)

Step Three: Finally you want to print out your quote on high-quality paper, have it spiral bound and looking good and get into the hands of your potential clients.

Here’s an example of a Million Dollar Quote that has many of these features.

Painting and Decorating Proposal

Specially prepared for

John and Jane Smith

123 Smith Street

Christchurch

Proudly presented by: XYZ Painters

30 July, 2017

Dear John and Jane

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to meet with me the other day to discuss your project and for considering XYZ Painters as your painting contractor.

After meeting and talking with the two of you I am confident that we will be able to work well together completing the painting of your property at 123 Smith Street to your specifications.

Upon completion of the painting of the property, you will find that you have an attractive, weather-proof, hard-wearing property that you’ll not only have glowing pride in, but that will also attract great tenants.

Your Current Situation

➢ Your property is approximately 12 years old and the paintwork is still the original.

➢ Some of the seals have moved during the earthquake and these could compromise the weather tightness of the property.

➢ You also have cracks in the plaster around some of the windows. Again, these could compromise the weather tightness of the property.

➢ EQC have previously inspected the building and have found it to be free of any exterior defect.

➢ You now require a detailed quotation in order for EQC to reconsider your claim.

Your Ideal Outcome

➢ You now require a detailed quotation in order for EQC to reconsider your claim.

➢ If you get a cash settlement from EQC, you would like us to take on the project

➢ You are looking for great value for your investment.

➢ You want your property to be weather tight and also look fresh and attractive to any prospective tenant.➢ You want to the project done on-time, on-budget and with the minimum of hassle.

➢ You want minimum disturbance so that the current tenants enjoy a comfortable property even while it is painted.

Our Recommendation

To repair the crack, re-seal all the seals and to repaint the property as discussed, the investment is $5000 plus GST. (We have included the attached scope of work, which itemizes the work that is in our proposal.)

While we inspected your property, we have also noticed a few opportunities you might want to consider:

While price is obviously an important part of the total package, here are a few other equally important considerations:

1. Is your painter having your house and your windows professionally cleaned upon completion of every paint project?

2. Is your painter using only the best materials and paints available to ensure you get the best protection for your property?

3. Can your painter offer glowing references from past customers along with testimonials?

4. Is your builder a licensed building practitioner and a member Master Painters Association of NZ?

5. Is your painter a professional who is known for quality construction and strong customer service?

I would not be asking you these things if XYZ Painters didn’t fulfill ALL of the above criteria and then some. We have made a commitment at XYZ Painters that our craftsmen will maintain excellent quality of workmanship and use only the best quality materials and hardware to ensure you’ll be delighted with your newly painted property.

We will not enter into an agreement or start any work until you are 100% satisfied that we have it right. At that point, these documents become part of the construction contract.

Here is a similar property to yours that we have recently completed. If there is anything that needs to be added, removed or modified on the plans, scope of work or specifications, please let me know and I will see to it immediately.

I’ll give you a call next Saturday morning around 10.30am, to answer any questions you might have and organise the best time to start your project.

Until then, I hope you have a great day and I look forward to speaking with you again soon.

Warm Regards

Paul PainterXYZ Painters

Here is what some of our customers had to say about us…

Testimonial 1

Testimonial 2

Testimonial 3

As you can see, this quote is quite different from the quotes that most tradespeople give. By using a format like this you’ll greatly increase your chances of getting profitable new clients who happily pay you high fees for your building work.

Now I have some good news and bad news:

First here is the bad news…

If you don’t take action nothing will change in your business.

And the reality is that many people find it hard to take action by themselves.

Think about all the times you’ve planned to take action in the past on an important goal and within a few weeks, nothing has changed.

However, there is also some good news:

If you get the support of even one person to help you take action you are twice as likely to make some positive changes.

Think about how much easier it is to do some exercise like a regular 15-minute walk twice a week if you have a good friend who goes with you on each walk.

If you have the support of even one person you are much more likely to take action and get some positive results.

So that’s why I’m offering all readers of this marketing guide some free help to put these three secrets into action:

The way this works is very simple.

We will set up a short 10-15 minute phone call over the next week or so.

I’ll then give you two simple action steps that will help you put all three of these marketing secrets into action in 2 weeks or less.

I’ll also give you one more thing you can do that should create an extra $20,000 in new profits for your building business over the next few months.

(And best of all you don’t have to work any longer or harder than what you do right now to earn these extra profits.)