You did not lose the panel job on price. You lost it on the second follow-up

A note on what this is. We have not surveyed homeowners on why they picked an electrician. This is what a quoted job looks like from the office side, and the one habit that changes it.

What the homeowner sees

Three quotes in her email. Similar prices. Similar licenses. She is not an electrician; she cannot tell whose work is better. So she waits. A week later one of the three texts: "Hi, checking whether you had questions on the panel quote. We could do it the week of the 20th." That company is now the one that seems organized. She signs.

What the other two see

A quote that went out on a Tuesday and never came back. After ten days it slides down the list. After a month it is "lost, probably price." Nobody checked. Nobody could, because nobody wrote down when to.

The two-week sequence

• • Day 1: the quote goes out, in writing, with a link to book.
• • Day 3: "Did the quote come through? Happy to walk through it."
• • Day 8: "Most people have questions about the permit. Here is what it covers." Plus an open date.
• • Day 14: "Last note from us. If the timing changed, tell us and we will hold the price 30 days."

Every message stops the moment she replies or books. In Spanish if the house speaks Spanish; West Miami often does. Never between 8 PM and 8 AM.

Why it is not about the price

On a $4,000 panel a $300 gap is not what decides. What decides is which company still seemed to want the job on day eight. The second follow-up is the cheapest thing in this trade, and it is the one most companies skip.

Questions we get asked about this

Related