The Bargain Hunter

A lead is anyone you can contact. But a qualified lead is someone who meets your criteria.

And your criteria depends on the offer you designed for the customer avatar.

Naturally, when you start your business you attract very few qualified leads.

But by year 20 most of your leads are pre-qualified before you even speak to them because of how you've built your business.

Here's a look at how that changes over time:

Especially in the first 10 years your ability to separate a Bargain Hunter from a Value Buyer will be a very valuable skill.

PRO Tip: Set a minimum price on your website to reduce Bargain Hunters before they even call.

As we cover with the Lead Fit Filter, project type is something you should pre-qualify over the phone right after the introduction:

Example Conversation

Your initial attempt to qualify a lead may unfold like this:

"Thanks for reaching out. I want to make sure we’re the right fit and can give you accurate information quickly. Can I ask you a few quick questions?”

After they've agreed:

Project Fit Question:

“Can you tell me briefly what you're looking to accomplish? And where is the home located?”

To make this simple let's assume based on their description you're able to accurately assess the project type and it matches something you offer. This is easier said than done by the way, and something most businesses struggle with a lot in the first 5 years.

This is why we fix your pricing and offers before trying to fix your sales.

Budget Fit Question:

“For a project like this, we typically see budgets in the range of $X to $Y. Does that align with what you were expecting?”

Often this question can come up naturally in the first 30 seconds of a call and can quickly disqualify leads with expectations far below your price range.

There are 5 total criteria that we check for fit in the Lead Filter, but in this post we're only focusing on the Bargain Hunter.

They Don't Know What They Want

When a customer doesn't know what they want there are several effective questions you can ask to assess their motivation level:

When you want to politely inquire about their unknown scope without insulting their budget.

YOU: “Have you established a specific budget range for this project yet?”

CUSTOMER: “We have no idea,” 🚩

YOU: “Are you comfortable following a structured process?”

If they object to following your process they will not buy your price. If they're just looking for a quick number and your price range wasn't good enough, this is a Bargain Hunter.

But if they are open to following your process and have no idea about price, establish that they are willing to spend any money at all.

YOU: "Is this the right time financially for a project like this?”

If so,

YOU: “Let me give you realistic ranges so we’re speaking the same language.”

Compared to What?

Often a customer is basing their expectations on something or someone else.

You can deduce what competition they are associating you with in several questions:

“How many contractors have you spoken with?”

If > 2 you might be dealing with a Bargain Hunter.

“What did the last contractor tell you your project would cost?”

Price shoppers reveal themselves fast:

Green Flags

Red Flags

“What’s the most important factor for you besides price?”

If they struggle to answer they’re probably a Bargain Hunter.

Finally, if you've fully implemented the Precision Proposal Package™ your goal is a fee-based pre-construction process that homeowners must complete before you produce a detailed proposal.

You can position yourself in this way by asking:

“Are you comparing us to other design–build remodelers or bid-only contractors?”

This reframes the comparison and elevates you.

(and never wonder if you'll be working for free...)

The lead qualifying fix for any business that has homeowners as customers.