Would a Surgeon See You for Free?

A bloke rang me this week. He had some work he wanted us to look at — the lawn and back area, a few internal bits — and thought he might need some advice.

Could someone come out and give him a quote?

Yes, I said, and we charge a fee for that.

There are a couple of options. We can send two tradesmen out to do a bit of work for an upfront fee, or we can send one of our build team to look at it, give you some advice, work out what’s involved and prepare a scope of works and a price.

That’s around five hundred dollars.

He thought that was outrageous.

He told me he was a medical specialist and said he didn’t charge that much. He reckoned we’d only be there for half an hour, so that worked out to a thousand dollars an hour.

That’s fine, I said. But if I came to see you, you’d charge me.

You’d have a conversation, work out what the problem was and bill me for the consultation. If I needed surgery after that, you’d quote me for the surgery too.

We do the same.

He said that didn’t sound right.

So I said it sounded like we probably weren’t a good fit, and I respected that. It was completely up to him whether he wanted to engage us.

Thanks for the call and all the best.

And that was it.

It’s okay to charge for the visit

Some clients can make you feel very unreasonable for wanting to charge for your time. They frame it in a way that makes you feel like you’re the one being difficult.

Some companies quote for free, and that’s fine.

You don’t have to.

And you don’t have to apologise for it.

Call it a quote, a scope, a consultation — it doesn’t really matter. When you’re an expert in your trade and you go to someone’s house, you’re doing discovery.

You’re working out what the problem is, giving advice and figuring out what’s actually involved.

That has value.

It’s exactly what the surgeon bills you for when you go and see them. The consultation is separate from whatever treatment might come next.

There’s nothing wrong with doing the same in construction.

Don’t justify it

The trap is getting into all the reasons why your fee is justified.

Don’t start saying your quotes are better, your people are better or your process is better. Maybe they are, but I’m not sure it matters.

Once you start doing that, you’re arguing.

Just explain the process.

“Yes, we can come out. We charge a fee for the visit. One of our team will look at the job, give you some advice and prepare a scope of works and a price.”

If they push back, keep it simple.

“That’s our process. If you went to see a medical specialist, they’d charge you for the initial consultation. We do the same.”

If they tell you the other guys don’t charge, that’s fine too.

“They’re free to do that, and you’re free to use them. We’re comfortable with our process.”

And if it’s clearly not going to work:

“Sounds like this probably isn’t a good fit for you, and I respect that. It’s up to you whether you want to engage us. Thanks for calling, and I wish you all the best.”

The important bit is not to be sarcastic about it.

Stay calm, be respectful and be genuine. If you tell someone you wish them all the best, actually wish them all the best.

Once they’ve paid, treat them like royalty

If someone has paid for your time, give them value for money.

Make it a good experience. Give them proper advice. Follow up. Do what you said you’d do.

They’ve paid for a service, so deliver one.

The fee isn’t really about the five hundred dollars anyway.

It signals that your time has value, but more importantly, it creates commitment.

Someone who is serious about getting the work done, and serious about doing it with you, will generally be comfortable paying for your expertise upfront.

What you want to avoid is people using your time to do their own research.

When someone pays for an upfront consultation, you’ve already learned a few useful things before you even get to site.

They’re serious about the work. They respect your time. And they’re willing to engage with your process.

That’s usually a pretty good start to a client relationship.

And if someone thinks it’s outrageous that you’d charge for your expertise?

They’ve told you something useful too.