Estimating over the phone (Asking the right questions)

**PERFECTIONPLUS** · 02-24-2013, 11:47 PM

I was thinking about this the other day when one of my detailers heard me on phone with a customer and commented that i asked a lot of questions. I responded to him by saying that the answers to my questions paint me a picture of my customer, there needs, concerns, expectations, time frame etc. There vehicle, its condition , amount of use , future plans etc. These things all come in to play when estimating .

Ive learned that asking questions really engages the customer and lets them feel that you are concerned with their vehicles situation. Often times ive had customers call me back after calling other shops for estimates and tell me they chose me because of my interaction with them on the phone. I pride myself on seperating my shop from the other shops in my area in all aspects of business.

Some questions i often ask are " Are you having your vehicle detailed to sale it or just for maintenance purposes?" " When did you last have your vehicle detailed?" " What condition do you consider your vehicle to be in ?"

I try to start off by asking open ended questions like "what are your concerns with your vehicle " . These type of questions get them talking to you and show that you really are trying to get to the root of there detailing needs . I usually restate there concerns back to them so they know i am listening. From there i now know there concerns, wants and needs . Next I always try to ask at least 3 questions about what they just told me their concerns were such as " How bad is the dog hair?" "Is this vehicle your every day driver?" These are more open ended engaging questions that let my customers tell me more about the vehicle , it is also and opportunity for me to feel out my customer. Are they being real short with you or open with you ( this is my way of judging my customers honesty) . I then move on to more close ended questions such as " So your main concern is getting you interior back to as new as possible condition ? or So your main concern is protecting you vehicles paint from (fill in the blank) ?

I get there yes to my question , then and only then do i present the one package that i have that i believe best fits there vehicles needs. I tell them what the package includes and how much it will costs. I dont present another package if they decline , if they do i ask them " Why the hesitation on taking care of your vehicles needs" They tell me the reason wich is usually cost . I will then restate there concerns back to them and how the package im offering will take care of that. If they continue to decline i simply thank them for calling , I would say 7 out of 10 will call back within the hour and make the appointment not because my prices are cheaper but because of my engagement with them about there vehicle. Like i stated earlier ive had customer literally call me back after calling the other shops and tell me " Man , you really showed me that you were concerned and I feel confident that you will do a great job for me "

Sorry for the lengthy rant but thought it might help , anyone else with advice feel free to chime in !!

**dcjredline** · 02-25-2013, 12:10 AM

Good points!!! The key to a good negotiation is finding out what the other party needs/wants.

**Lim3** · 02-25-2013, 03:08 AM

Great info

**Kevin Cullen** · 02-25-2013, 07:44 AM

Yes great info. You make money by solving problems for people, solve more problems, make more money. So your questions are great because they are looking for problems that you can solve.

**09Vapor** · 02-25-2013, 08:06 AM

Excellent wright up thanks

**rustytruck** · 02-25-2013, 11:43 AM

An open ended question is one that leads to further discussion. You gave the example of "is the car a DD" that can be easily answered yes or no. If you asked the customer"what kind of car?" Than after they answered you could ask them " oh a Toyota Rav4 that's a great little SUV what do you like best about it?" That is an open ended question. The customer will need to provide more than just a yes/no answer.

A question I always ask the customer is "is there anything strange or unusual about the car or condition of the car?" This is where they start telling me about the kid puking all over the back seat. Or the strange stuff all over the hood.

Great post. Thanks.

**PERFECTIONPLUS** · 02-25-2013, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by rustytruck

An open ended question is one that leads to further discussion. You gave the example of "is the car a DD" that can be easily answered yes or no. If you asked the customer"what kind of car?" Than after they answered you could ask them " oh a Toyota Rav4 that's a great little SUV what do you like best about it?" That is an open ended question. The customer will need to provide more than just a yes/no answer.

A question I always ask the customer is "is there anything strange or unusual about the car or condition of the car?" This is where they start telling me about the kid puking all over the back seat. Or the strange stuff all over the hood.

Great post. Thanks.

Your right , I could of used a better example thanks for the the input.