do you give quote over the phone or perfer doing it thru e-mail?
 

do you give quote over the phone or perfer doing it thru e-mail?

i dont really like saying prices over the phone, for some reason its just easier to do it thru email.

should i be open to giving pricing over the phone? or does it not matter?

I can't see why it would be any problem to just simply give a "quote" over the phone.

I think you would have to get some accurate information from the caller before you can give an accurate quote. But you could give a quote based solely on the information that is provided in the call. Perhaps let the caller know that the quote is based on the information you get in the call and that, until there is a written agreement between the parties, the quote is not binding and is subject to change.

Some folks like to just kick tires with no definite plan to go ahead. Some folks are likely spies from the competition to see if their own price is in the same range as yours. And some probably just want to know if they can afford you at all.

You will always find those who will make a decision based solely on price. Nothing you can do about that. So why waste your time. Simply give them a price and move on. If you want to follow up with them, ask if it's all right for you to give them a call next week to see if they are still interested. If they say NO, you probably weren't going to get their business anyway.

Jeff

I'd spin it a bit differently - a QUOTE requires a lot more information than an ESTIMATE does. Unless your business model is based on set packages (like a lot of wedding and event folks), I'd suggest language like "well, similar projects we have completed have cost as little as $500 and gone as high as $5000. I'd suggest yours would be somewhere toward the lower end of that scale but would welcome the opportunity to put something a little more concrete together for you, but first I'll need a little more information from you..."

I don't have set packages. It's much more difficult to give a quote or even an estimate over the phone. I will listen to the prospect's needs, ask questions and gather information. I then plug the numbers into a spreadsheet which takes into account travel time, mileage, equipment used and my time. I can generally give a fairly accurate estimate within 10 minutes or so, but almost certainly not while the prospect is still on the phone.

When they press me for a "ballpark" while I'm on the phone, I'll tell them something like Shaun mentioned: "I've done similar projects as low as $xxx and as high as $xxxx."

I agree with Chris.

However, I will often quote a price on the phone when I can tell it's a goof who's about to waste my time. "$1500/finished minute" gets rid of most of the "tire kickers", then I can concentrate on clients who can afford me.

I send numerical figures through email rather than the phone. Like others have said, I'll typically talk to a client in person or over the phone, ask lots of questions, get the info I need, and then put something together. I find that I really like sending estimates and quotes through email because of the added detail it gives clients. I put something together in Quickbooks and then fire it off to the client. They can see exactly where each hour is going to be spent.

And yes, there is something to be said about the people that call on the phone and demand an exact figure from you on the spot. Those typically aren't clients. They're Grinders.

excellent points above, I would only add that emailing numbers after the call is also my fave. Allows me to really think it through and price it fairly and accurately vs forgetting stuff or low balling it while still on the phone. also looks nice and professional. also my email estimate really details what all that cash is for and in the process educates the client. shows my understanding of the job too.

good luck :)