Worried I quoted an office too high.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Performing "follow up" is good....but "every day"...I won't do that.

We have a lot of sales people call us...big name IT products...and even when we entertain their dog 'n pony show, listen to their pitch, do a conference call, do a webinar, or they stop by our office...if one of their sales guys starts calling me every freaking day.....I will put them on ignore mode. Actually I'll tell our office manager to tell them I was in some horrific accident and died, or I'm out on vacation for a few weeks....or I'm just never in the office.

I've had some big brands call us to death, and they get crossed off my list if they are nagging me every single day. Nothing pisses me off more and that will get them on my ignore list very quickly.

Following up after a day or two..and perhaps again at the end of the week or beginning of the following week...sure.

 

[Rosco]

Performing "follow up" is good....but "every day"...I won't do that.

We have a lot of sales people call us...big name IT products...and even when we entertain their dog 'n pony show, listen to their pitch, do a conference call, do a webinar, or they stop by our office...if one of their sales guys starts calling me every freaking day.....I will put them on ignore mode. Actually I'll tell our office manager to tell them I was in some horrific accident and died, or I'm out on vacation for a few weeks....or I'm just never in the office.

I've had some big brands call us to death, and they get crossed off my list if they are nagging me every single day. Nothing pisses me off more and that will get them on my ignore list very quickly.

Following up after a day or two..and perhaps again at the end of the week or beginning of the following week...sure.

yea... to be honest you might have alienated them. I send out tons of quotes maybe half land or a little less. Not anyone is going to bite. Calling 3 days in a row is a little much. I alway give time limit on quotes usually 7 days

 

[etoolsguy]

7 days?

I thought that 7 days would let the customer cool off and change his mind. Besides, a competitor with a more aggressive strategy would certainly snag that job away.

 

[LukeD]

Regardless of the outcome your next quote should include a clear expiration date, sweeten the pot by including a free network security audit if they sign by the end of that week.

 

[PCSComputerGuy]

Not to change the subject of follow up, but I think that if you quoted them your normal rates then you shouldn't be worried if it was too high. Would you be willing to do if for less?

Personally, if they don't like my rates then they don't have to hire me. I would not take on someone who doesn't like my rates. I can spend that time looking for other prospects rather than working at a discounted rate.

 

[nightkingdoms]

My quotes are to the point and have a time limit (mine are 10 days). Mine are also highly specific. I ask them what they do, how they use their computers, if any of them use the Internet, what problems they've had in the past, etc.

From there I make my quote with ridiculously high, high with a small discount and low bid with low services. The idea is to sweeten the high bid and eliminate the other 2 as too highly priced and too low of services. On the quote I say when I'm going to call (in a few days) to answer any questions and make adjustments and I call exactly then.

As a rule I usually space a few days between contacts and tell them exactly when I will.

 

[codegreen]

In my experience you are more likely to error on the side of not talking to and communicating with the customer rather than over communicating.

My point is that you should follow up, follow up, follow up. If you do not then companies like mind are going to get your prospects and you are going to complain about that other IT company who must be doing something suspicious to steal your customers.

Human nature to fall on your strengths and avoid personal weaknesses.

Technically oriented people would prefer to make a presentation and let the facts talk for themselves "if you need me you know where to find me" sort of attitude.

This is why the most successful organizations are mixed between the very technically oriented who actually do the work and others who are very communication and customer service oriented who actually know how to book the work.

I agree with all of this, but there is a such thing as too much follow-up. I contacted a company because I was interested in one of their services. After the initial conversation, they pestered me every day. After a few days of this, I decided to go with one of their competitors.

 

[Rosco]

I thought that 7 days would let the customer cool off and change his mind. Besides, a competitor with a more aggressive strategy would certainly snag that job away.

Nah, i get a lot of people calling on the last day the quote is valid. 7 days is plenty of time but not to much. With big contracts you can not expect someone to jump on it after 5 minutes. It is a big money commitment. I find the less pressure the better. Like others have said i ask what they use the computers for, what the problems have been, and what they want. I also do an audit of the equipment before the proposal. So i write the proposal for exactly what they need. That way the only thing they need to think about is do they want to spend the money. Some places dont. I dont want those people. I am sick of bargain hunters. I have spend the last year weeding them out of my client list. I want the people that will spend the money on what they need and be happy with quality service at a FAIR price.

EDIT: I have given quotes and not heard from the company for year. They went with some cheaper pizza techs. Well they ended up calling back. It cost them over 1000 more than the original quote but it was done right and they were happy. You really do get what you pay for. If you lose this one there will be another.