I'm a natural DIY'er and enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to work around the generally accepted method in favor of my own solution to a problem or need. This puts me in a spot where I hate to spend money on something that I think I can do just as well, but for free or cheaper.
Sometimes it pays off, often it does not. I'm bringing this up because I've figured out that, when it comes to specialized business software, there is some stuff I just can't do better (or even as good) than a targeted application can. While i'm still reluctant to commit to a dedicated CRM, i'm still trying to function using google services and contacts only for scheduling, etc. and it's probably hurting me.
one thing i've recently invested in that has paid off big time is Pro Posal. I LOVE it. Here's a rundown of my experience with the software.
-I'm using it almost exclusively for resi, and sending quotes on jobs that are a little more involved than what I think i can close with over-the-phone quotes, or to certain neighborhoods where i believe a more involved and professional approach will help me close.
-I sent my first pro posal on 4/14, my most recent one on 7/17. so that's almost exactly 4 months.
-I've closed a total of $31,689 in business on quotes i sent via Pro Posal in those 4 months. We just finished a $4900 job based off a proposal ,and just booked another $6600 in window cleaning, roof cleaning and pressure washing at one home this morning.
-I've sent a total of 61 quotes of which i've closed about 30, so that gives me an average closed ticket of $1056, way higher than my average job ticket.
- I estimate I've saved a total of 10 hours in time vs. the old way I used to send quotes of this type (the process of generating a quickbooks estimate>convert to pdf>layer with letterhead in adobe acrobat>upload to gmail>send email to prospective client)
- I value my own time at $100 (arbitrary number, I know, but that's a pretty good estimate), so that amounts to $1000 in time savings over the last 4 months.
- I've paid $120 for the software.
The real kickers for me, when it comes to Pro Posal are these:
-Because it's so quick, easy and convenient to send really high-quality, detailed proposals from any device anywhere, I find myself sending this type to jobs where I used to maybe just drop off a hand-written estimate. i believe this leads directly to a higher closing rate, at higher prices, with customers that are FAR more likely to become cheerleaders which leads to a much higher rate of referral (the GOLDEN EGG for service businesses.)
-I'm not a great time manager and i'm extremely busy, so I've had problems in the past in getting requested proposals out in a timely manner. I'm embarrassed to say that there have been times that it's taken me weeks to get estimates to people, and I've lost out on business simply because I didn't respond in a timely manner. Pro Posal has virtually eliminated that problem for me.
In summary: I love pro posal. It's exactly what i needed. If you are: really busy, work in the field sometimes and wear several hats in your business, don't have an efficient way to generate bid packages that look BOSS, would like to spend more time on building your business by getting work done or cultivating relationships, would like to spend less time on the tedium of putting numbers and documents together to try to close more business, have an employee that you would like to delegate proposal generation to, but don't have time to train them the in way you've been doing it and need something simpler... etc etc. then I urge you to give Pro Posal a try.
If you are none of those things and have none of those needs, then maybe you don't need Pro Posal. But it will probably still save you TIME which will save you MONEY.
Sometimes it pays off, often it does not. I'm bringing this up because I've figured out that, when it comes to specialized business software, there is some stuff I just can't do better (or even as good) than a targeted application can. While i'm still reluctant to commit to a dedicated CRM, i'm still trying to function using google services and contacts only for scheduling, etc. and it's probably hurting me.
one thing i've recently invested in that has paid off big time is Pro Posal. I LOVE it. Here's a rundown of my experience with the software.
-I'm using it almost exclusively for resi, and sending quotes on jobs that are a little more involved than what I think i can close with over-the-phone quotes, or to certain neighborhoods where i believe a more involved and professional approach will help me close.
-I sent my first pro posal on 4/14, my most recent one on 7/17. so that's almost exactly 4 months.
-I've closed a total of $31,689 in business on quotes i sent via Pro Posal in those 4 months. We just finished a $4900 job based off a proposal ,and just booked another $6600 in window cleaning, roof cleaning and pressure washing at one home this morning.
-I've sent a total of 61 quotes of which i've closed about 30, so that gives me an average closed ticket of $1056, way higher than my average job ticket.
- I estimate I've saved a total of 10 hours in time vs. the old way I used to send quotes of this type (the process of generating a quickbooks estimate>convert to pdf>layer with letterhead in adobe acrobat>upload to gmail>send email to prospective client)
- I value my own time at $100 (arbitrary number, I know, but that's a pretty good estimate), so that amounts to $1000 in time savings over the last 4 months.
- I've paid $120 for the software.
The real kickers for me, when it comes to Pro Posal are these:
-Because it's so quick, easy and convenient to send really high-quality, detailed proposals from any device anywhere, I find myself sending this type to jobs where I used to maybe just drop off a hand-written estimate. i believe this leads directly to a higher closing rate, at higher prices, with customers that are FAR more likely to become cheerleaders which leads to a much higher rate of referral (the GOLDEN EGG for service businesses.)
-I'm not a great time manager and i'm extremely busy, so I've had problems in the past in getting requested proposals out in a timely manner. I'm embarrassed to say that there have been times that it's taken me weeks to get estimates to people, and I've lost out on business simply because I didn't respond in a timely manner. Pro Posal has virtually eliminated that problem for me.
In summary: I love pro posal. It's exactly what i needed. If you are: really busy, work in the field sometimes and wear several hats in your business, don't have an efficient way to generate bid packages that look BOSS, would like to spend more time on building your business by getting work done or cultivating relationships, would like to spend less time on the tedium of putting numbers and documents together to try to close more business, have an employee that you would like to delegate proposal generation to, but don't have time to train them the in way you've been doing it and need something simpler... etc etc. then I urge you to give Pro Posal a try.
If you are none of those things and have none of those needs, then maybe you don't need Pro Posal. But it will probably still save you TIME which will save you MONEY.
from Window Cleaning Resource http://ift.tt/1kLRLQm
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