Make sure your replies are personalised

How to personalise your reply to customers to win more work


Replying to Customers - Our Top Tips to personalise your reply and win work! 

Our members are often asking our customer support agents how can they price the jobs correctly or tell customers how long will the job take if they don't have enough information from the job description. 

In the online reply section there are 4 boxes you need to fill in order to give your potential customer as much information as possible.
Yes, we are aware it's sometimes impossible to give an accurate (or any) quote based on the short and often vague job descriptions home owners post. 
Although we ask customers to provide as much details as possible when posting the job description on the service. Unfortunately, they are either not reading the instructions or are just in a hurry to find the tradesmen, so they are not bothered to provide enough information.

However, we're trying to help our member tradesmen stand out and increase their chances of winning more work by providing genuine and personalized replies. Imagine if you're a home owner who posted a job and within few hours gets 10 email replies from tradesmen. But they all look the same! They all read: 'Due to the nature of the job, I would like to do a site survey in order to give an accurate quote. Pls contact myself to arrange a site survey... '
Home owners are most likely to contact the one who introduced himself in the reply instead sending a generic reply. They will also check their website to see it the tradesman is verified and genuine. If they see an empty website, they are not likely to reply. 

Here are some tips how to reply to customers if you are unable to give them an accurate quote: 

When can you start?
You can answer this question in many ways, for example you can say, “Flexible”, “ASAP”, “Tuesday”... Please don’t ignore the question and enter “???” or “XXX” as this comes across as rude and will generally cause the customer to ignore your reply and choose to go with a tradesman that was more informative.

How long will it take?
This question is designed to show the customer that you understand what work needs to be done and you have an idea of how long it will take to complete. Generally it is hard to give an exact time and if you cannot answer the question honestly simply explain to the customer that you need more information to give a time scale. For example, say: “Need to view the job” or “Need more information, please call me to discuss”.

How much will it cost?
Can you honestly price every job online? Of course, the answer is no. If you cannot price the job online simply tell that to the customer : “Need to view to price honestly” or “Need more information to price honestly” or “Call to arrange a quotation”. The options are vast but again don’t come across rude by replying with “XXX” or “???” or “000” as the customer will immediately ignore your reply and go to the next reply.

Your comments for the job? 
This is your chance to shine and let them know who you are. Very often this is an area that many of our members ignore and send a generic reply ( Due to the nature of the job, I would like to do a site survey in order to give an accurate quote. Pls contact myself to arrange a site survey) that is saved on the system when this is the worst thing you can do. Your comments are your introduction to the customer and it's vitally important that you introduce yourself in a professional manner and tell the customer who you are and what you do. See the good example below.

“Hi my name is Stephen of Molloy plumbing & heating. I have over 20 years experience in the Irish plumbing & heating industry, I‘m fully qualified, registered with RGII, fully insured and VAT register to insure all you work is completed to the highest standards guaranteed. I would be very interested in pricing this job for you but in order to give you an honest price I would need some more information. I either need to have a chat with you over the phone or I can come and view the job first and give you a detailed honest price after. All my work is guaranteed and I can provide references of previous work I have carried out. When would you be available to talk? You can call me on the number attached or email me back through my onlinetradesmen.ie profile to either talk about your work in more detail or arrange a time to price your job at a time convenient for you. All quotations are FREE.”

By filling in the 'Comments box' with your own personal message to the customer, you have a chance to impress further and show the customer you have actually looked at the job and are not just sending out the same message for every job.
Always put your Name and Phone number here too and a phrase such as "Call for an Honest Free Quotation" as getting calls is easier then chasing jobs.

See more sample replies


    • Related Articles

    • Bidding explained

      The Onlinetradesmen bidding system increases your chances of winning work.  After you have replied to a job you will get an option to call the customer. A maximum of 3 members can access the customer's number. Once the job is posted the first 1-60 ...

    • Areas for improvement - making the most of your Onlinetrademen account to win jobs

      We receive around 5,000 jobs each month and want to ensure you're winning the jobs you want. We have collected feedback from our top 10% most successful members with the most beneficial ways to use the Onlinetradesmen service.  We want to share their ...

    • Need more bidding credits?

      Increase your chances of winning work by bidding for a customer number. Your Onlinetradesmen subscription includes an allocation of credits.   If you need to buy more credits, click here to choose a top up option. Read more about bidding

    • How to reply to jobs & win work easily!

      When you reply to a customer online through your account, you are asked to answer 4 simple questions in order to give the customer some vital information. When can you start? You can answer this question in many ways, for example you can say, ...

    • Sample customer replies

      A good customer reply makes that all important first impression.  We understand you will often need more details before you can provide an accurate quote.  While you may include some specific details for certain jobs. Have a good general reply, ...