“Ask all potential clients THIS question…”

Our tools editor Steve Maxwell wrote a post, last month, about that worrisome feeling that some clients give us when we are pitching our services to them. “The little voice that says NO.” We have all blown past that signal in our guts. And we have all paid the price. Here’s a nice idea from Gavin Parsons, the next time you get that “NO” voice when you are talking to a prospect.

“Learn to ask all potential clients this question”

“I think all of us in the construction business have had that negative gut feeling about potential clients, but have ignored the signals.
 One thing that I was taught years ago that has helped me immensely is to ask this question of a potential client: “Have you ever built before and how did it go for you?” 
In short order, the potential client will tell you about their fears, past experiences, and what they think of the construction industry.

“One of my best examples of how powerful this question is happened a number of years ago.
 We were building in an active new subdivision and a potential client came over and asked us if we could give him a price on his new build.
 It was a substantial house and, of course, I said sure.
 Then I asked “The Question.” He answered that, yes, he had built new houses twice before. I asked how that had gone for him. “I had to take both those “b______’s” to court,” he replied. I said I was sorry to hear that and suggested he contact me when he had his final plans put together.

“When he called back a couple of weeks later, I told him I was booked solid.
 He burned the contractor who took on the contract for a substantial sum of money.
 By the way, he was a lawyer.

Gavin Parsons