10 seconds.
That’s how long it takes to know whether the #1 deal-killing objection will derail your bid. This objection torpedoes thousands of bids every day.
The objection, of course, is sticker shock – the wide-eyed “Ah! I only budgeted $10,000 for this $20,000 roof” knee-jerk reaction that stops a job in its tracks.
Most homeowners have no idea how much their project will cost, but 77% set an initial budget. That means, for most of your estimates, you run the risk of sticker shock.
To combat sticker shock, you either have to slash your prices or walk away from the job. Neither outcome bodes well for your business, especially if you already face low margins.
We believe estimates should help you prevent sticker shock to get the customer to “yes”.
But after talking to dozens of contractors and looking at existing estimation generators, we realized that many tools forget this fact. Existing tools are hard to use, take too long, and produce estimate documents that don’t help you get the deal done.
We asked ourselves a basic question: What would an estimation tool look like if we built it from the ground up to help you overcome sticker shock?
Today, we’re excited to introduce you to our answer:
Meet Hearth Estimate Builder – a tool that makes it easy to prepare estimates that overcome sticker shock and sell jobs. Every Hearth contractor has access to Estimate Builder through our mobile app, which you can get here.
Designed to get customers to “YES”
Unlike our competitors, we include and emphasize monthly payment options in every estimate document. These payment options are at the center of each estimate – our testing has shown this placement is critical to overcoming instant sticker shock.
Affordable payment plans reduce sticker shock because they show customers there’s another way to move forward without putting all the cash up now.
Each estimate includes 3 monthly payment plans. Your customer can request one of the plans directly from the estimate, and as usual, our pre-qualification process won’t affect your customer’s credit score.
Quick note: To be clear, you get paid upfront; the customer gets the cash from the lender then repays the lender with fixed monthly installments.
Ridiculously easy to use
Every contractor we spoke with said their current estimate generators are too tough to use, so we tried to make ours as easy to use as possible.
You can use Hearth Estimate Builder straight from our app. Here’s how it works:
Press “New Estimate” from your Command Center in the app
Enter the project’s title, customer name, and total estimated cost.
Enter in as much information as needed in the Project Description section. You can enter line items or a general summary, whichever you prefer.
Voila! After you press continue, we’ll instantly generate an estimate for you. You can send the estimate to your customer over email, text, or just make a PDF.
Ready to get started?
Estimate Builder is included with your Hearth subscription. That means you can open our app today to use Estimate Builder. If you don’t already have the app, you can get it here for iOS and Android.
This is just the beginning. Our Silicon Valley engineers are hard at work building new technology for you. We know running a business isn’t easy, and we want you to know we have your back.
If you have any feedback on Estimate Builder or any ideas for future tools, please don’t hesitate to reach out at hello@gethearth.com.
