Giving estimates to prospective clients or customers is an essential part of many businesses, especially those that are service-oriented. Whether you're designing someone's logo, doing their business taxes or fixing their plumbing, you'll have to provide prospective customers with accurate estimates to win their business while protecting your own. Learning to successfully estimate work for new customers will let you provide your skills at a fair price without shortchanging the value of what you do.
Instructions
Give Estimates
1. Ask enough open-ended questions of your clients so that you completely understand exactly what they'd like the end result of your work to be. Do they want your service done in a special or unique way? In a hurry? On a budget? Are there unusual aspects to their job that will demand unusual materials or other special handling? Your best insurance for successfully giving estimates you both can live with is to be absolutely certain that you both understand exactly what it is (and isn't!) your estimate will cover.
2. Tell your prospective customer that you'll need a little time to assemble your estimate. Even if that's just a few minutes in your car without the customer looking over your shoulder, insist that you need an opportunity to factor the information you've gathered into your estimate. Quoting an estimate "off the cuff" at the insistence of a demanding client frequently results in a rushed decision that fails to appreciate how much time and expense may be involved.
3. List any materials or supplies that you'll need for the job you're estimating, along with your best estimate of what those materials will cost. Research local costs if you're able to in order to avoid underestimating the out-of-pocket expenses that you'll be investing up front to complete the job.
4. Based on your own experience (or that of a friend or mentor who has experience in the field you're working in), estimate how long you think the job will take to complete. Then add 25 to 35 percent to cover unexpected delays or difficulties.
5. Decide how much you need to charge per hour to reach your income goals based on the number of hours per week you're able to work. For example, if you'd like to make $1000 per week, you'll need to charge $25.00 per hour, assuming you have enough clients to do 40 hours of actual work every week. Even if you're a part-time or occasional service provider, base your hourly rate estimate on what you think will meet your overall goals.
6. Multiply the number of hours the job will take times the hourly rate you want, and then add in the cost of materials and supplies that you've listed for the job. The total represents your estimate for your customer.
Related posts
Refurbish and renovate furniture to achieve a distressed painted look seen in Habersham books. Habersham is a furniture company specializing in early American country designs popular in the 17th a...
Make money painting murals for other people.Mural painting can go from a hobby to a job if you have the skills, time and clientele to make it work. In order to make this transition you need to fig...
Your labor cost may be higher if you need to use particularly toxic paint.The labor cost of painting is one of those things that can vary immensely by something as small as the neighborhood being...
A one-man housecleanng business is easily workable when one can adhere to a strict schedule.Housecleaning services can be a highly profitable venture if the happiness of the customer is always pla...
A contract is an important element of any home improvement project. The level of detail required depends on the size and scope of the job, but even simple repair work should be governed by a contr...
