Stop losing customers before you send the quote

A customer sends a WhatsApp message asking for a price. You reply asking for a few details. They send some information, but you still need the measurements, delivery address or a clearer description of the work. You ask again and wait. This happens in many small businesses. A contractor cannot price a job without knowing what needs to be done. A caterer needs the number of guests before working out the cost. A printing business needs to know the quantity, size and type of material.

The problem is that these questions are often asked one at a time. While the business owner is trying to get the details from one customer, other enquiries are coming in. Some customers lose interest before the quotation is even ready. Tally offers a way to collect those details through an online form. Instead of starting every enquiry with a series of messages, the business can send customers a link and ask them to complete the information needed for a quote.

Put the usual questions in one place

A business owner probably knows which questions come up every time a customer asks for a price. The challenge is getting those questions answered before work starts on the quotation. A plumbing business, for example, could ask customers to describe the problem, provide the property location and upload photographs. A catering company might ask for the event date, number of guests, menu choices and delivery requirements.

Tally allows businesses to create forms using text fields, multiple choice questions and file uploads. It also has conditional logic, so the questions can change depending on what the customer selects. A customer asking for a repair, for instance, does not need to answer the same questions as someone requesting a complete installation. The form should be built around the information the business needs to price the work. It should not become another long process that customers have to get through before anyone speaks to them.

Try it with the enquiries coming in

Start with the questions the business owner regularly asks before preparing a quotation. Put those into Tally and create a form that customers can complete on their phones. Once it is ready, send the link to a few customers and see how they respond. If people struggle to complete it or keep asking what certain questions mean, make changes before using it for every enquiry.

The business should also decide who receives the completed forms. If the owner is responsible for quotations, submissions need to reach them. If there is a sales or administration employee handling enquiries, that person should know what to do when a form comes in. Tally can collect the information, but someone still needs to prepare the quote and get back to the customer.

Is it saving time?

Take a small service business receiving 30 enquiries a month. If the owner spends 15 minutes chasing missing information for every enquiry, that works out to 7.5 hours. That is time spent sending messages and making calls rather than pricing jobs or dealing with customers. After using the form for a month, the owner can compare how much time is being spent on follow-ups. It is also worth checking how many customers complete the form and how many stop halfway through.

The business should keep an eye on:

• Completed enquiry forms.

• Enquiries with missing information.

• Time between receiving an enquiry and sending a quotation.

• Number of enquiries that receive a quote.

• Number of quotes that turn into jobs.

There is a temptation to ask customers for every possible detail upfront. That can work against the business. Someone looking for a straightforward repair may not want to spend ten minutes filling in a form. Keep the questions short and remove anything that does not help with the quotation. If more information is needed, the business can ask for it afterwards. 

For an SME, the first response to an enquiry matters. A customer who has contacted three contractors may go with the one who gets back to them first, even if the prices are similar. Tally will not solve every problem in the sales process, but it can reduce the back-and-forth involved in collecting basic job details. That gives the business a better chance of getting a quotation out while the customer is still interested.