There is a list on a fridge. A door that sticks, a dripping tap, a curtain pole that came down, two shelves, a smoke alarm beeping and a fence panel.
Each one is too small to call about. Together they are four hours of work and around three hundred pounds, and they have been on that fridge since April.
Step 1: invite the list explicitly
A page saying you take lists, with an example, changes what customers send. Most people assume a tradesperson wants one defined job and will be irritated by a list of small ones.
Step 2: give them a structure
Room by room, one line per job, with a photograph each. That format is easy to fill in on a phone and produces something quotable without a conversation.
Step 3: ask for photographs of everything
They answer more than a description ever does, including wall types, access, what is actually wrong and whether something is larger than the customer thinks.
Step 4: publish per-item guide prices
Common jobs with indicative prices. Customers add up their own list, decide it is worth it and send the whole thing rather than asking about one item.
Step 5: price the visit, not the items
A half day or a day covers a list far better than per-item pricing and is usually cheaper for the customer, because travel and setup are paid for once rather than on every job.
Step 6: identify what you cannot do
Gas, most electrical work, anything structural and anything needing certification. Flagging it at quote stage, and recommending the right trade, is better than discovering it on the day.
Step 7: establish what materials are needed
Fixings, a tap, a smoke alarm, a fence panel. Whether you supply them, whether the customer buys them and what happens if the wrong thing was bought.
Step 8: sequence the visit
Jobs needing the same tools together, noisy work not first thing, anything requiring water off planned around the household. A well-sequenced half day fits more in.
Step 9: leave time for the extra one
There is always one more job once you are there. Building thirty minutes into the quote means it is a pleasant surprise rather than an overrun.
Step 10: quote a realistic list
Customers underestimate every job on the list. A quote assuming everything takes the time it actually takes is more honest than one that assumes the best.
Step 11: book the next one before leaving
Households generate new lists continuously. Suggesting a visit in six months turns one customer into a standing arrangement.
Step 12: capture the list whenever it arrives
Lists are compiled on Sunday afternoons, which is exactly when nobody is answering, and the delay is the reason in picture hanging and small fixes customers delay for months and one person, many jobs, and the messages in between.
Getting started
Publish your list format, guide prices and half day rate, then capture lists and photographs at any hour, which addresses several of the points in chatbot myths that are costing small businesses customers. SpideyChat for home services businesses answers from your published pages, and quick quoting is covered in small job enquiries that handymen can quote quickly. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.