Ok so I’ve been getting jobs that are 2 hours away and I can’t give a bid over the phone so what the best APP TO USE… without driving 2 hours to look at and then not get it??? Also what is the max y’all well drive for a job?
I use Google earth for anything more that 30-45 min away. Sometimes Zillow will have a helpful pic or 2 as well. I was un aware of anything better so I’m interested to see the results of this. Also I try to stay inside 60 miles for anything residential.
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I personally would not travel 2 hours except for a real money maker. Figure if your hourly rate was $100 p.h. then a 4 hour job with 4 hours travel time should be at least $800 to make it worthwhile. If you are going to do it though, have the customer email or text you some photos so you can quote it.
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45 minutes of city center KC for residential. Will travel further for commercial over $3k. Just did my first overnight out of town, but had worked for the same maintenance group before.
Google maps and zillow here too. I started doing all residential estimates over the phone a couple months ago.
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I really want to switch over to phone quotes next season. I know by at least June next season I’m going to have to switch to phone quotes or I’ll be out doing estimates constantly. I just would hate to quote a job then show up and realize we have a problem. Im scared to get burned. I keep running into this stuff I’m calling immitation vinly. It looks just like vinyl siding but it’s aluminum pannles made to look like vinyl. You would never know it’s aluminum until you touch it.
I haven’t been burned yet, but if I have to amend an estimate for any reason I do it before any work is started. Only did it a handful of times and never had any push back. You can typically get all the info you need by asking the right questions and via google maps/zillow.
Making a bunch of trips to bid is getting burned too though. I’ve kept all mine within 20 mins so far. I’ll go farther but not much. I’m in a pretty good area
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I’m hoping to have more luck with targeting neighborhoods instead of things being so spread out. Don’t get me wrong I’ll take the jobs I get but I’m hoping to have a little more say in the direction next season with some planned marketing and timed advertising. With any luck I’ll be booked into sept by mid June. 
Welcome back lance! Haven’t seen you in a while
Well you fell off and went to space for awhile
Business is booming what about yours
Yeh that’s true.
But then @Atlas1, the kindest dude here, told me special brand of humour was missed.
So I turned into a Dolphin and swam back in
The house i did yesterday was that type it aluminum. By the way if you have that many estimates, its time to get a salesman. Or get your main helper to go out on a couple…
I washed a house today. The owner wanted the concrete done and i gave him a price after he gave me the size of his concrete. I knew it wasn’t right when I arrived. It was twice the size so I just washed the house and moved on because he didn’t want to pay the extra money.
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I was thinking about asking the wife if she wants to do estimates. I haven’t done the numbers yet on how many estimates I did this year but it seems like alot. Keep in mind I haven’t made the leap to full time yet. I’m only trying to scheduling 5-15 Houses a week. I only did 15+ in a week 3 times last year and I was on vacation from my day job one of those weeks.
Make a small template for her to follow and check off
Number of stories
Water tap
Linear footage of building
Length of water hose needed pressure is a needed
Size of structure in square foot
Type of siding - aluminum wood vinyl hardy
What needs to be removed from siding
Location of elec supply
Broken windows or screens
Number of lights, sockets, keypads to cover?
Sidewalk
Patio
Driveway concrete asphalt square foot
What’s on drive way
Pavers/stone
Out buildings
Bushes - trees
Ladder work
Rust - soot -moss
Gutters inside, gutter gards? Type of debris?
Gutters outside tiger stripes?
Size, Hightower and length of gutters
Type of gutter? Seamless aluminum pvc
Other services needed
Special details? (holes in siding, statues/ornaments wood doors etc)…
Ask the customer for the job
Ask customer do they prefer cash, check or charge
Ask customer when is the best time
Ask customer about pets or special plants
You may not ask all these questions or you may have more to add.
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I’ve done over the phone bids but I use a combination of websites. Google earth is good for street view only. Bing maps is good for “bird’s eye view” (if you don’t know what that is, check it out!) And I use real estate websites for any pictures they posted of the exterior. You’d be suprised, some real estate sites keep pics for years. Bing Maps is my favorite. Problem I have is at the shore in NJ they knock down an old house and build a new $$$ home there. Bing/Google shows the old home. Usually the real estate websites save you on a low ball estimate on them.
Google has a great satellite few that allows for all measurements to be taken.
I love the checklist idea…what do you mean by, “ask customer for the job”?
You have to ask for the sale. It’s easier for a customer to say no when you leave after they say they want to think about the price. Instead of giving them that chance, just say “when would you like to set up an appointment?” Its more like assume the sale more than anything.
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