Automated quotes for trades

The problem

A quote that goes out the same day has a better shot than one that goes out Thursday. Automated quotes put a draft in front of you within minutes of the job details coming in, without taking the pricing out of your hands.

Quotes are where a lot of jobs get lost. You go look at the job, write notes, and mean to send the number that night. Then it’s Thursday. By the time the quote goes out, the customer has already said yes to someone else.

Most of the work in a quote is the same every time: measurements, materials, a labor estimate and your markup. The judgment part is yours, but the typing doesn’t have to be.

What I set up

A short form, on your phone or your website, that collects the details you already gather for a job. From those details and your own pricing, it builds a draft quote in your format. You look it over, change anything you want and send it. I’m in Ephrata, so for a trade there, in Moses Lake or nearby in the Columbia Basin, we can go through how you quote now in person.

I start with a form on purpose. Pulling details from recorded phone calls is possible, but recording a call needs everyone’s OK, so a form is simpler and cleaner to start with.

What you get

• A draft quote within minutes of the details coming in, built from your prices and your rules.

• Quotes that look the same every time, with your name on them.

• A record of what was quoted, so follow-ups are easier.

• Updates when your prices change.

What it takes from you

• Your price sheet, or a few past quotes I can learn your pricing from.
• An hour or two walking me through how you build a quote now, including the things you always check.
• Review of the first batch of drafts, so I can fix anything that’s off.

Quotes that never turned into jobs are a good list for win-back emails later.

Here’s how working together goes, starting with a free 20-minute call.