My Top 3 Customer Fails (So You Don’t Repeat Them)

All right, guys. It's the three worst things you can possibly do when you show up to a customer's job site that will almost guarantee you do not get the job. And these are three things that are more common than you would think. Make sure you stick around for number three because it's the one I'm guilty of doing the most. Without wasting any more time, let's dive into today's video. Real quick before we get started in today's video, we've got an exciting announcement. Merch. We finally have merch at the Dirt Monkey Shop. In fact, here's one of our new hats. We've got new t-shirts and new sweatshirts over at the Dirt Monkey Shop. We've never had merch before, so this is the first time ever. I'd love for you guys to just bop over there, check out some of the stuff we've got, and give us some feedback. And if you like the designs, let us know by buying one. All right, but let's get into the first thing that first worst thing that you can do when you're out on a job estimate that will guarantee you probably are screwing things up. Timmy, what's the worst thing that you've done that you've noticed consistently loses you customers right out of the gate? Um, not following up with a customer, not getting your estimates out fast enough. So, when you say following up, can you actually break that down for me? Is it after the time after the initial phone call or after you send your message or make sure they got their email cuz sometimes it goes into their junk mail and and you lose them that way and if you if you didn't follow up, you just missed out on a on a potential job. I think a lot of customers nowadays, especially with the the shorter attention spans, are turned off if they don't get a phone call back within the same day. Okay. Even a even the next day seems to be kind of on the fence. for some people, but then they want their estimate right away. It's like the military, hurry up and wait, right? They want that estimate as soon as they possibly can. And then you also, I found out, you've got to follow up after they have the estimate. What are you noticing? Yep. Yeah. You got to follow up with them or that they're going to go with somebody else that did follow up with them. Sometimes that followup is the key element. That's the key. you. It's not even about being the cheapest anymore. It's about being the guy that they feel the most comfortable with because when they're because I mean you're we're shouldering the burden. We're taking they're looking at hiring us because our job is to alleviate some a pain point for them or to accomplish their dream. And then when you go out to a site and you give them a vibe of who they're working with right away. So I mean you I like to just shoot the shoot the with people in the first you make a nice connection with them. Yeah. [Music] Yes. First and then Yeah. Then we you know hey what are you what are you looking to do here? You know just it it just feels natural to just that's a key element. In Costa Rica whenever we were doing land development it was customary to spend 1 to two hours with the family. So, if we were going to go buy somebody's farm, we It's not about, hey, we've got $60,000, $100,000. How many acres do you have as a developer? None of that was on the table in the very opening. You talk about soccer, you talk about tradition, you talk about how long the property's been in the family, you would make a connection that that was customary in that culture before they would even consider doing that. And I I brought that to the to the cities and intentionally I did, but he did it naturally. He's great at just trying to connect with a customer and getting a real good vibe for what they want and what makes them tick. You just do it very naturally. [Music] Yeah, it helps. It helps to just that that type of communication with them. I I enjoy it actually. So yeah, you know. Yeah. And we also have the 20-minute rule on our jobs. And the 20-minute rule, I always said I I had a hardest time with Blaine, who was a little bit of an introvert with the 20-minute rule. Timmy, I I had a hard time with Timmy on the 20-minute rule, the opposite way. But the 20-minut rule was I always liked my guys to spend 20 minutes with the customer per day just talking. Not about the job, not about anything. Just if you could take 20 minutes to connect with that customer every day, your complaints go way down because it's imagine if like one of your grandkids came out or one of my grandkids came out or your kids, your nephew, whatever, did a job for you. You're not going to chew them out because you're connected to them. You're you may have some concerns, but if they don't know you from Adam and they don't like the way you got that boulder placed, well, you're not their friend, right? you're the guy that put the boulder in the wrong place. But if you spent over the course of a week, 20 minutes a day or one hour bsing with that person and they know where you go to church and they know what kind of food you like to grill and you know all stuff about them. They're going to look at your boulders and stuff like that and they're just going to go, "Yeah, remember when you put that in wrong, Bill?" Or they or they come out like, "Hey, can you move the boulder around the bottom there?" Laughing, you know, like, "Yeah, sure." And yeah, yeah. They joke around with you. That's a good way to connect. That's huge. So that connection fund a freaking mental to your close rate and and I I've always liked to have a one in three close rate. I don't want to I don't want to close too many jobs. It means that my price is too low. Um I don't want to lose too many jobs. Means my price is too high. So a one in three close rate to me has always been a fundamental. I've also always used the one and200 ratio for marketing. So for every $1 I do in marketing, I should get $200 in work in return. Most guys won't tell you about this and if they do, they're more on the line of a one in one or a one in two. So if they spend, you know, $50 in marketing, they hope to get $100 in jobs. And I think that's just very bad. It's not the right ratios. 1 in20 is a ratio I've always used and now I don't know what we're spending on marketing but it's next to nothing because we've got the marketing dialed in. Your jobs speak for you. Word of mouth speaks for you with the customer. You get a bad vibe from them from the get-go. Even though it's a job you could have you that you could be dealing with that job for years if you're not, you know, like make you're kind of vetting them as they're vetting you to see if it's somebody you want to. So, it is good to communicate with them that way to kind of see who you're working with if you want to work with them, right? Because there's been some in the past, you know, that you're just like, "Oh, man. Wish I didn't I would have only just kept driving, you know?" Yep. But Yep. made more money. Yeah. If I drove past the job. If I drove past the job, you would have Yes, sir. Yeah. cuz some customers are that bad, that picky and they're they they want to get stuff for free. They're you're just a you're not a person. You're something to get something from. Some people treat each other like that. [Music] What's that job you screwed up on, Alex? I went out there and talked to the customer and came up with a master game plan for their backyard building walls, stairs, and you know, we were out there talking and BSing and I went to go measure everything up. Well, he stayed out there when I was measuring it all up. Well, I never measured up the stairs and then left and wrote the quote up and sent him the quote without even including the stairs or anything. And, you know, it was a tighter job where he was looking, you know, he wasn't looking for a deal or anything, but he had his budget. And when I went out to do the job and the stairs weren't included, they didn't fit in his budget and he wanted the stairs. So we I you know I just ate it. You ate the stairs. I ate the stairs to I didn't make anything on them. But he was happy and we were happy. But so that would be a matter of how you format your bits, your boiler plate formatting of your bits. Yep. So that you get all of those details in there and you have all of your exclusions. This job includes up to a certain amount. this job does not include X amount, but you limit the quantities. That way, there could be no misunderstanding. Let's say you're going out and measuring a a y a sad job. Yep. And you say, "We're going to grade out up to 900 square yards of of area for turf installation and we'll install 900 up to 900 square yards of new sod on your project." that that means when the customer comes out and they're interested in having you do just that little extra over there. Well, it's extra. One of the things that I want to caution these guys on is do not screw up your bid and hold the customer accountable for your screw up. If like what Alex just said, he he tried to upcharge the customer for that. That's a That's a lowball scumball tactic. That's Don't be that guy. You may end up eating some stuff, but that's okay. But don't be the guy that intentionally gets his foot in the door by lowballing a job knowing that some some stuff is not included that other people may have included. I think that's just despicable. I think so, too. Especially when you're bidding apples to apples where a customer wants this project and you miss a part and then they sign with you. They go through the process, maybe you pulled permits and now you're already so far invested that they'd be restarting that entire process over if they were to actually go with somebody else because now you're x amount of dollars higher. And a lot of times these customers leverage everything they can, especially in a hardcaping job, because it's their dream. That's what they're trying to accomplish. It's their goal. So they'll put they and they're not telling you that. I mean, they'll give they'll give you the budget, but what you don't realize is everything that they've been doing for years up to that point to get to that point. I mean, it's an honor to be allowed to help complete their dream. And when you go bass backwards on them and you say, "Oh, by the way, we didn't include this, this, and this." That's almost like spitting in the face. If I was a customer, I'd want to fire them right away. I It just that And there's contractors that do that. And to me, though, I can't stand those guys. I Yeah, I can't stand them. Tim, you agree with me on that? Yeah, I was wanted to add that too. You know, just that the when you get in and lowball like that. Yeah, we're here to take care of the customers. You know, if if it's that much money that you lost, that there are ways where maybe you upcharge another portion of the job and maybe that's a not not where you're gouging the customer and taking advantage of it, but you're making up for a little bit of that lost money by upcharging that project. you know, on valid on valid upgrade is because and now the reason we've got to qualify this statement is because a lot of people are willing to give stuff away for free while they're there because the way the customer will often approach you will be like, "Oh, by the way, since you're already here, could you just do this for me?" They downplay it, but they want it done. And that's a valid job charge that most contractors are not go they're they're caving. They're saying, "Oh, yeah, I know. Okay. Yeah, we can throw that in there." But you don't have to cave when it's something valid and it's a request after the fact. But if it should have been in the original proposal and you missed it, that is on you. Do not go back after the customers. That's just my my personal I think we're all with you on this. We're here to take care of our customers and not take advantage of them. And I I mean I I say it very adamantly and firmly because if you're watching this channel, hopefully you are working to a different level and honor and integrity and helping customers with their work. My street's going to be very clean. Been through here a couple times. Yeah. All right, guys. Back in the day, I was making the same rookie mistakes that a lot of guys were making. I wanted to come off as an expert, and I thought that's what would make my customer comfortable. Well, there is a balancing point between coming off as a know-it-all and coming off as an expert. A know-it-all barfs all all of this knowledge and information onto your customers trying to impress them. That's the feeling that I've feel like I' I've screwed up on more than once. And instead of trying to initially just make that connection and looking and being professional, you try to do it by impressing them with the technical aspects of the job that you think they would want to know. Really what they really customer really wants to know is are you going to be there for me? Are you an actual expert? How much do you know? They don't know what you know, but they don't care either. They don't care if you use 3/4 clear rock under your base or how much how deep the the drainage zone is. As long as you're doing it right, that's all you've got to do. So, one of the rookie mistakes I made was barfing out too much knowledge, trying to impress these guys, and two, talking over them instead of allowing them to talk. The more you allow you can get a customer to talk, I firmly believe the higher your close ratio is. So, I would try to impress them and not allow them to get their ideas out. I needed to shut up more and listen a lot more. And whenever they asked the question, then I could throw in just enough knowledge that would allow them to figure out that, hey, this guy actually knows what he's talking about. But then I should switch it right back to them and allow them to express their desires. Remember, this is a probably a project that they've thought about for 6 months to maybe a year and you're initially meeting them. You're going to become a partner in this job for them. So, take the time to try to find out where did this job come from? What is it that ultimately they want to do? And how can you become an instrumental piece to that so that they really look forward to having you out on their site? That's my two cents. Shut up more, listen more, and don't barf knowledge out onto your customers because it can be a complete and utter turnoff. Try to have a nice balance between professionalism, but actually caring about your customers needs. That's a huge thing. I would say the best thing to do on the job site is communication. They talk to you and you're there to hold their hand for whatever they need. You know, if it's picking out material, picking out stone, calling them back, double-checking, do you have any questions about this estimate, do you have anything you want me to go over thoroughly? They'll tell you if they need more information on it or not. You like, you think it all looks good, great. And you can move on from there. You know, communication is what I feel like when I sell jobs, the communication is the biggest part. I go above and beyond and and you you need to be able to feel that customer out. Are they tire kicking or are they serious? Absolutely. One of the things that you when you say tire kickers, I like to qualify my customers right out of the gate on the phone. For sure. Uh and I realize this because if you don't qualify their I don't know what you guys are looking at. If uh if you don't qualify their budget and their expectations, you could be going out and just wasting your time. And a great example was I had a customer that he wanted a I think it was a 200 foot long retaining wall across the entire back of his property and it was 5 foot high. So we're talking about a,000 square ft retaining wall. It turned out to be a 20ome,000 project. And I spent a half a day being out there measuring it up and doing everything. And then at the end of the day I turned in my estimate and he's like, "Oh, I thought this was going to cost about $5,000. That's what I have for a budget." And it's like, what? Why am I even out here doing this if I'm not prequalifying my customers budget and I'm prequalifying their expectations? So, I tell them like the easiest way to pre-qualify because you guys will probably ask, "How do you do that?" I'm an artist. I can create just about anything you want. I need to know how big of a canvas and what colors we're going to be working with. And the canvas is your budget. And the colors are your materials. So if you want me to paint you a picture, you want me to transform your yard or do something like that, I need a budget. I need to have some ideas, pictures of things you like, you love, what are the things you can't live without, and what are the things that would make your life better, but maybe we could sacrifice to make sure that everything blends together. And I've closed so many more jobs where it's just a matter of going out and collecting a check. You just just sell them soon as they call when they pick up the phone. I'd sell job left and right over and over and over again just by doing that simple thing right in the phone initial phone call. I'd never mess around without getting that budget right out of them. Right? Sometimes the customers are smart and they don't say their budget because there's a lot of companies that will be like, I'd do this job for 20 grand, but the customer's budget's 30, so I'm going to come in at 28 and be under their budget. So, a lot of times for a lot of these homeowners, they they don't like uh saying their budget explicitly over the phone. You just need to understand if they understand the scope of work, you know, um is a big thing. But I always think selling jobs to is working with their budget. Okay, you have x amount of dollars. What can we do with your budget? You need this done. What how can we make this work? Is it multiple phases? Do I do this portion here, set the bones, and come back next year and finish it? or do we dial back the project and give you something that you can meet in the middle. But there's times where I tell a customer, you don't have the budget. You're not going to get what you like. Save up. I don't want to waste your money or your time and give you something you're not going to love in your backyard for the rest of your life. Absolutely. Y fundamental. Those are phenomenal. I done done many multi-year projects where customer couldn't afford it one year, but by the time year three rolls around, they've got their dream built because we've become their strategic partner. They appreciate that because it's the real life stuff is expensive. Our prices have gone up because things have gone up so inflated so much where customers are, you know, they don't understand what things cost nowadays. But when you tell them that we're willing to work with you and we understand that you have a budget, I can't spend that kind of money in my backyard. So I don't expect you to be able to do the same, but let's work with what you have and give you something you'll love. Usually just getting the bones of it in. You know, if it's a retaining wall and they want a patio and fire pit and all that, well, maybe you you can do the retaining wall now because they're having issues and then down the line now now next season you got a little money for a patio. Great. Go put a patio in, right? Doesn't have to be got to do it now or forget it. One of the things that I don't practice where there's money on the table. It just it's the worst possible thing. And what I mean is if you're not really comfortable talking to customers and you're a little nervous before you go out to meet your first customer, don't. That's not the spot to try to refine your sales technique. You can be a salesman anywhere and everywhere. Every single place you go, I uh I like to tell this story about going to Subway and you got the the sandwich artist behind…