What does it cost you to get a customer through your front door or to call you by phone? Every business should know that dollar cost number and they should know that number for each of the different ways they generate leads. When you know this number you will treat each new customer contact with more respect rather than running after the next prospect before you have fully mined the first.

The following little tip I have seen quadruple companies gross sales and you will be surprised at how very few companies focus on it.

‘Make A Good First Impression!’

In my industry we do many in home estimates where a new customer may be getting several quotes. Consequently there are times the customer will not give their answer on the initial contact. In fact if all our customers start giving us the job on the initial contact we will keep raising our prices until they don’t. If everybody hires your company you are still too cheap.

That being said here are some points to think about when you are quoting prices for your company.

1. There is not a lot of competition. In most cities in North America you may think a lot of other companies are quoting on the job but they are not. Many times a home owner may call 10 companies and still only be able to get 2 or 3 out to their home. And before you say that it is not that way in my area I want you to try and get out different companies to your home. You will be very surprised in the majority of cases.
2. You Look Better Than Your Competition. If you have been reading our articles for a while you know how to look for A First Impression. If you have not gone out and checked out your competition than you need to right away. Checking your competition will usually show you how not to act and will also show you just how easy it is to look better than they do.
3. Many Customers Don’t Get Multiple Quotes. You may think that all your customers are getting multiple quotes but that just is not so. Many customers give up after 1 or two quotes and just don’t want to wait around.

Why are these 3 points so important? Because it shows you how important it is to make a good first impression. With the right first impression and follow up you can easily get the lion’s share of your market. I think you will truly be astonished about what you are competing against and how many either don’t show up or give such a bad impression that most customers would not hire that company.

There are other reasons they don’t call back right away. Some just decide to put the job off for now. Others decide right now that it is just a little more money than they want to spend. Some just don’t have the confidence in any of the companies that show up so leave it for now.

What I see so many business owners do is take this as an indication that they have not got the job because their prices are too high so they lower them. BIG BIG mistake. You don’t need to do this.

Focus on making a good first impression along with higher prices, give risk reversal guarantees and tons of customer testimonials and then decide where you would like to vacation this Christmas holiday.

Remember ‘What You Focus On Grows’