$500 budget - hmmm...

No they won't be easier at 1000...at a thou you'll get 900 stoopid questions a month that ONLY YOU will be able to answer for the client. You'll spend hours on the phone and go home with an ear-ache everynight.

| >> Hey...there's still a niche for the small guys. My average residential jobs | >> have been running between 2500-6000 lately...so don't underbid and put a | >> profit on everything. So I don't get every job I bid these days, but what | >> the heck...if there's profit in it I don't have to rush and can take my time | >> to design and install it with pride. Don't compete with the idiots...they | >> eventually disappear from the phone book. | >>

| >

| >Just my take on the subject..... | >

| >Obvioulsy it's a lot easier to pass up an account when you've reached | >a certain point when the revenue is coming in along with the | >referrals. When you're first starting out you're a little more | >pressured to take what comes ..... when it comes. | >

| >Also, as I've mentioned before, I use my pricing to govern how much | >work I do. But again, this is a luxury provided by recurring revenue. | >

| >Until you reach that point where your RMR can support you and the | >overhead, it's a struggle. | | Yeah, I figure when we reach the 1000 account mark things will be | much, much easier! Until then I'm wearing all the hats and another | installer is not in the budget. I'm focusing more on installation | revenue right now for cash up front, the account base will just have | to grow slowly. |

Yah, I've been messin with QB too, not sure if I like it for estimates or not.

Yah..big houses. This quarter alone I've done 2 million dollar ones and one

| >Build yourself an Excel spreadsheet with your most commonly used parts and | >prices. Takes me less than an hour to design, spec and price out a proposal. | >I still have to type it up, but I'm working on that aspect. | | I'm working on that, in the meantime I'm using the estimate feature of | QB. I select the parts and input quantities and it adds up my cost | for the stuff. Then I take the list over to a Word doc and do my | markup in there. | | | | >Hey...there's still a niche for the small guys. My average residential jobs | >have been running between 2500-6000 lately...so don't underbid and put a | >profit on everything. So I don't get every job I bid these days, but what | >the heck...if there's profit in it I don't have to rush and can take my time | >to design and install it with pride. Don't compete with the idiots...they | >eventually disappear from the phone book. | | | That's a good chunk for resi jobs, you must be doing big ass houses. | Thanks for your advice. |

That's the double-edged sword of RMR! Sure, the money is nice but every one of the customers will require babysitting. I see no way around that - I'll have to personally interact with the clients to make sure they are being cared for, but that is what I get paid for.

I do security for myself and as a service for local businesses and schools for free when they are concerned about getting ripped off or have been ripped off. There was a jewelry store that got robbed so I called them and told them that I would help them for free to purchase a system. This lady sat there while I told her what she needed for a DVR, cameras and I even called a reseller of the gear and he specified what she ought to buy, most of which I have bought for myself. I even offered her my old $1000 4 channel DVR for $400 and she just sat there. In my mind she was either stupid, untrusting, scared or cheap. I wouldn't spend more than 5 minutes on the phone with a customer if when I ask them what there budget is, they said $500. I would tell them, you can't get here from there. Here is my number, give me a call when your budget reaches at least $4000.

This is the type of customer I say goodbye and will not spend another minute on. Obviously they do not care about there clients and they will be out of buisness with in months if the break ins keep happening and word gets out. There is nothing you can say or do to convince them securty is important. Like my grandfather said "let assholes be assholes sooner or later they shoot them selves in there own foot." I have a policy when I go out and a customer asks me pricing and I see how he reacts that it is too much and I know the price is a bargain then its time I say good bye and move on and tell them to open the phone book and throw the dart and find another dealer. I will not waste my time dealing with cheapskates and imbesilles. When there is a whole world of people out there who need my services and realise there value. I just love people who call and want to know what I include in my free alarm systems. I politely tell them I do not offer free systems and please call some one else and hang up the phone. I will not waste my time. Im busy enough as it is.