Charging for quotes?

I find people asking this all the time…

“im sick of coming home and spending all night working out my quantities and preparing my quotes only for my clients to never get back to me…is it possible to charge for my time quoting?.”

I believe it is certainly possible to start charging for your quotes however you have to be adding value.

There is a lot more to laying bricks than placing one brick on top of another along a string line. There is product selection, there is brick set out and design, there are logistical issues that need over come, structural loads to consider, materials handling, aesthetics, the ability to understand the design teams drawings, there are safety issues to consider, legal requirements, standards, codes, and regulations, managing clients expectations, programs and deadlines - the list is long and exhaustive - and all bricklayers solve these issues each and every day without even giving it a second thought.

Clients employ bricklayers for the skills and expertise they possess. The key to getting paid for your quoting is to add this value from the beginning - explain to the client the value you can add if they go with you and how the small fee they are going to pay is going to be extremely beneficial for them in achieving a successful project.

Attend site to meet with the client and understand the project, provide thorough and detailed quantities, talk about program, help them with product selection, highlight any problem areas they may encounter such as safety issues or areas that are going to be tough to lay, show them where they may be able to save some money, help them with where they should stack their materials - by doing all this you show real interest in the project, you show how professional you are and the client starts to trust that you are the only person for the job.

By following the above you are a lot more likely to win the project and the client wont mind paying for the value and advice that you provide - moving forward you will find that clients wont bother going elsewhere and you will be able to negotiate the projects instead of hard dollar quoting - this is the ultimate position to be in.

In the end because your win rate is so high and you have a good pool of clients that trust you - you may actually start looking forward to quoting and wont feel that you are wasting your time however will start to see the benefit of a thorough and detailed quote.

Happy Contracting!