Sales
'I'm getting three quotes': how to answer the caller who is shopping around
By Holden Marsh, Editorial Director7 min read
TL;DR: When a caller says, “I’m getting three quotes,” do not cut your price or get defensive. Ask where they are in the process, when they plan to decide, who decides, and then book the visit while you have them on the phone.
A caller who says, “I’m getting a few quotes,” is usually telling you how they plan to buy. They are not necessarily rejecting you. They are not necessarily asking for your lowest price.
Many homeowners hear the same advice: get more than one quote. It is sensible advice. A caller who says it out loud is often a real buyer doing their homework.
That is different from the price shopper who only wants a number and will not describe the job. Your first job is to find out which caller you are speaking with.
“I’m getting three quotes” is not an insult
Some owners hear that sentence as a warning. Others hear it as a challenge and start cutting the price before they have seen the roof, bathroom, panel, fence, or whatever the caller needs.
Both reactions hurt you.
You do not know the job yet. You do not know what the customer values. You do not know whether the other quotes describe the same work. A lower number on the phone tells you almost nothing.
Treat the sentence as useful information instead.
Start with this:
“That makes sense. Where are you in the process?”
Then ask:
“Is this your first call, or are you near the end?”
“Has anyone already been out?”
These answers tell you whether you are helping the customer start their search or trying to earn the last spot on the list.
Ask what was missing, not what it cost
If another contractor has already visited, do not lead with, “What did they charge?”
Ask what the caller liked and what was missing.
They may say the other contractor was fast. They may want clearer communication. They may care about cleanliness, someone who calls back, or a visit that happens when promised.
That answer tells you what this customer actually cares about.
Find the decision date before you leave the call
Ask, “When do you plan to decide?”
Then ask, “Who is making the decision?”
If two people decide, try to have both at the visit.
The decision date also gives you a follow-up point. Without it, follow-up turns into guessing. You either call too soon, or you wait until the customer has already chosen someone else.
Do not chase daily. Follow up once around the date they gave you. Ask whether they have questions about how the quotes compare.
The first clear quote sets the reference
Speed matters because the shop that responds first often becomes the reference point.
The shop that answers, books the visit on the first call, and sends a clear quote when promised gives the customer something to measure the other quotes against. A shop that calls back days later is being compared to a quote the customer already has in hand.
Book the visit on that first call when you can. Give the customer a date for the quote. Then send it when you said you would.
Three quotes may describe three different jobs
Quotes rarely describe the same job. That is why the total at the bottom can mislead a homeowner.
A pattern comes up again and again. A homeowner lays three quotes on the kitchen table. One includes patching and painting the wall afterward. One says “by others.” One never mentions hauling away the old material.
The lowest number may be the one that left the most out. The homeowner cannot tell that from the totals alone.
Make your quote easy to compare. List what is included and what is not included. State who pulls any permits. Spell out cleanup and haul-away. Say who supplies materials, or state the allowance. Give the expected start window and the payment schedule.
Tell the caller on the phone that your quote will spell these items out. Suggest they ask the other contractors the same questions.
The contractor whose quote explains every line is the contractor the homeowner calls back with questions. That call gives you another chance to earn the work.
Let the written scope do the selling
Do not drop your price on the phone before you have seen the job.
You do not know what the work requires. You also do not know whether the other contractor included the same work. Cutting your price early can leave you with a job that does not pay for the time and material it takes.
Do not talk down the other contractors either.
Let the customer compare the work, not just the totals.
Sometimes the right move is to step out
Ask one direct question if the caller keeps focusing only on price:
“Are you choosing the lowest number no matter what?”
If the answer is yes, and your shop is not the cheap option, say so politely. Explain what you price in. Then let the caller decide whether the visit is worth it.
You can say:
“We are not usually the lowest number. Our quote spells out the scope, cleanup, materials, start window, and payment schedule so you know what is included. If that is what you want to compare, the visit makes sense. If you are choosing only the lowest number, we may not be the right fit.”
A polite no early beats a wasted evening.
Bella keeps the first call from going to voicemail
Bella answers every call, day or night, so a shopper does not hit voicemail while dialing the next number on the list.
She works out the job, including the scope, address, budget, and timeline. She can ask when the caller plans to decide. She books the visit on your real calendar while your hands are full and only offers times you can make. The customer gets a confirmation text, and you get a text summary when the call ends.
Bella can give the price range you set. She never quotes a number you did not approve.
On the Growth plan, she has full repeat-caller memory. If that shopper calls back weeks later, she knows who they are and what job they asked about.
Plans are flat monthly prices: Starter is $95, Growth is $295, and Pro is $495. There are no per-call limits, no per-minute meter, and no overage fees.
Use this answer on the next shopping call
When a caller says, “I’m getting three quotes,” do five things.
- Thank them for telling you.
- Ask whether this is their first call or their last, and whether anyone has already visited.
- Ask when they plan to decide and who is deciding.
- Book the visit on that call.
- Promise a clear, itemized quote and give the date it will arrive.
Then keep that promise.
That is how you turn a comparison call into a fair chance to win the work.
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