Mike Andes shares a follow-up script for solo contractors pitching estimates. The three moves: reference a specific deadline the client cares about, say you're clearing your own schedule for them, and promise you'll do the work yourself instead of sending a crew. That last part shifts you from distant estimator to hands-on provider.
Use scarcity and urgency and do not just ask. Do you have any questions about your estimate? If you're a solo operator and you're following up with customers on the estimates that you sent out, there is one script that you can close all of your estimates and they'll say yes almost every single time. And that is when you call and they've got the quote and you're following up with them. You just say, hey, Mr. Jones, I know it's really important to you that by next Thursday we get the job done. I know you mentioned you have a party at your place and it's important to me that we take care of you. And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to clear my schedule next Tuesday and if we can go ahead and get you on the schedule now, I'm just going to do the job myself. This is a huge leverage point. If you have done an in person estimate and done a quote for a customer in person and met them and walked through the scope of work, if you're able to say, I will do it myself, this means that when you show up to the property, you're not going to tell them, I'm the owner and I'm the only person. No, I'm the estimator. And that's the role that you're serving in front of them. But then once it comes to following up with the customer, I'm going to say, I'll do it myself. Now you might be saying, well, I'm kind of doing it myself on all of the estimates, like all the jobs I do myself, they don't need to know that. So by saying, hey, Mr. Jones, I'm going to clear my schedule and get it done on this day and I'm going to do it myself, I'm not going to hand this off to the crew. That is a huge green flag for many customers because they've already built up the trust with you and you can close jobs left and right using it.
