08/16/2026
Stole from a professional contractor in a Facebook group:
Here is one technique called "Bracketing" that you can use to avoid wasting your time and tap-dancing for free for tire-kickers and low-ball customers. This will help you pre-qualify clients for your time, from the comfort of your home...
Customer wrote: "have a project request from you. I'm looking to replace the damaged concrete stoop at the front door of my house. Would like if you could come up with a nice looking and affordable design that possibly includes a roof and railings on the steps, or a ramp. Wood deck is also a consideration. Would prefer before the snow flies this winter. I was hoping to bring you my work and maybe help by working with you. Would appreciate any design ideas, of course....
So he sent me photos, I threw out ideas, and asked him for his budget. He refused to give one and asked for "Maybe 3 options with the estimated look and cost of each design/style."
I fed the photos into Chat GPT, asked for 3 mockups and 3 price points in a fairly long-winded prompt, and then shared them with the client with my thoughts on what the actual costs might be... and then, he told me his budget was $5,000.
This is why you need to charge a proposal fee for on-site estimates. If you are a free-estimate shop, how many hours of non-billable payroll expense would you have wasted tap dancing for free, only to learn after the fact, that their budget was $5,000 while you designed a $50,000 entrance ?
We have 12 videos that document our process on our website. I'll put a link in the comments to watch videos 5-8 that we share with clients when they push back against our process. If you need help with the transition to this system, lets connect on FB, or give the chat bot on my website your contact details and tell it that you want to talk about using our proposal fee system.
~End message
Food for thought! We no longer do free estimates. We only do paid consultations or project assessments.
