Craft & Honest Answers
What's Inside a Quote
Craft & Honest AnswersPro / Crew
When to use it: Once, done well, then linked forever — the post you send when a prospect goes quiet.
The structure
- Line 1: "Anatomy of our quote for [job type]:"
- Walk a REAL recent quote line by line (anonymized, numbers true): labor, materials, disposal, the line people question most.
- Line: explain the questioned line until it makes sense.
- Line: what is deliberately NOT in the quote (the upsell you do not do).
- Close: "Every quote we write looks like this. If a line ever does not make sense, ask — that is what it is there for."
Guidance — read before you write
Use a genuine quote with the customer's identity stripped, and get their okay if any detail could identify them. The "not in the quote" line is the differentiator — name the industry upsell you refuse, if that is true of your business.
A worked example
"Anatomy of a gutter quote from last week: $85 trip & setup, $210 cleaning by the foot (140 ft), $40 downspout flush, $25 haul-away of what came out. The line people question is setup — it is the ladder, safety line, and roof-protection kit that keeps the job off your shingles' warranty. What is not in it: the 'sealant package' some outfits add. Sound gutters do not need it. If a line on any quote of ours ever confuses you, ask. That is what the lines are for."