Learned It From Experience: L.I.F.E. Lesson #4
“What is your budget for the project?”
You’d think we were asking for their firstborn child when we ask this question. Or what their social security number is.
Many clients will answer with:
“We don’t know.”
“We haven’t bought anything like this in years so we don’t know where the prices are.”
“We have never done a large remodel so we don’t know.”
“What do you think it will cost?”
“Well, we want nice but don’t need top of the line.”
None of these answer your question.
All of them will waste time and money if you don’t push for more answers.
Clients truly do not know what things cost. This is your job to educate them. This should happen before the project starts.
You can start by explaining to the clients that sometimes it is helpful to decide how much is too much. They always know the magic number that makes them uncomfortable spending. If they are doing a kitchen remodel, you can ask, for example, “Is $50,000 a number you are comfortable spending?”
That question will be answered in one of two ways. Yes. Or no, that’s more than we wanted to spend. This type of question can be asked on any project with any number. It will help you decide if the project is something you want to take on, if they have a realistic view of the project and its cost or if you need to teach them why their budget isn’t reasonable.
Your confidence and understanding of pricing and costs are key. Educate yourself before you go.
In MYDB you’ll receive education and resources to help plan the budget for your project. My proprietary budget guides are included in the program and are room-specific templates for you to use with your own clients.
Taking your clients through the budget guides will help them quickly see where the money goes and help them nail down the exact budget. If you don’t spend time doing this, you’ll end up losing valuable time and possibly ruing a client relationship when the budget goes way over.
Need help creating a budget plan for your clients? Learning how to plan a budget is one of the lessons we will work through in MYDB. You’ll get reusable templates, a video walk-through, and my expert support. Join MYDB now!
