Minding Your Business: July 2001, Quality Control

"We use upfront qualifying because it gives us more time to concentrate on selling to the qualified people who come to our business," he explained. Mann’s upfront contract, or UFC, weeds out bargain shoppers by probing into their purpose and agenda during a phone conversation. First, he tells them to expect a one-hour visit if they are interested in a proposal. This demand of potential clients’ time separates serious callers from those who are looking for comparison prices, he said.

"Time is so valuable to people these days," he said. "If they feel their job is important enough that you can spend your time, then they can at least invest their time. Then, that will weed out the people who just want you to drive by and see what kind of price you can give."

But before Mann spends an hour on the property, he knows the sale fits the company’s profile: hard-scapes, retaining walls and paving stones. While on the phone, he follows a script that covers basic information, such as how the client heard about the company, the call date and the project type.

Then, the questions dig deeper. "What problems are they trying to solve?" Mann described. "Why do they want a retaining wall? Are they tired of their deck? Why do they need us? What are we going to solve for them?"

Mann goes through his form, checking off points after callers respond so he will not forget their feedback. After collecting and considering basic information, he continues with his UFC – the crux of the prequalifying process, which includes these steps:

• Purpose – Caller identifies reason for proposal.
• Agenda – The potential client lists expectations.
• Presence of decision makers – Review information the caller will need to prepare for the meeting, such as photographs. Most importantly, be sure that the decision makers will be present for the meeting.
• Date, time, location – Review driving directions to the property, set up a time and stress the meeting length.
• Outcome – This is the end of the first meeting. "The next step is for us to decide if we are qualified to do the job and if we want to do the job. Then, we’ll proceed to the next step, which is the proposal."

Mann will not draw up a proposal for each property he visits like he did in the past – some potential customers do not allow a sufficient budget to complete the job and others do not want to wait for a delayed project start date. But still, he creates proposals for roughly 85 percent of those who progress through his UFC and initial meeting.

Andrew Aksar, owner, Outdoor Finishes, Walkersville, Md., will offer rough estimates over the phone to prequalify callers. During this call, Aksar also gives the client a ballpark idea of when the project will fit into the company’s schedule. Those willing to wait most likely are serious potential customers, he figured. "The prospective clients who are serious about having a quality job performed are willing to invest the time in waiting for ‘their turn’ on our schedule," he observed.

Though Aksar doesn’t follow a structured form for detecting price shoppers, he complements each call with a disclaimer, directly notifying the caller that he will not be the least expensive company, but quality and commitment override dollars and cents. "I feel this lets them know that we’re serious about our work, we take pride in our work and that they will be paying a premium for our services," he noted.