How much free advice is too much before you ask for a paid visit?

Question

Got a call today from someone on an acreage outside of town. They accidentally Roundup'd two acres of grass. All of it.

We talked through it on the phone. I was honest — there's no cheap fix for this, free seed isn't going to cut it, this is a full restoration. I suggested a paid site visit as the next step.

But after I hung up I started wondering — did I give too much away for free? Enough that they'll try to handle it themselves and never call back? Or was being upfront the right move to build trust and set realistic expectations?

As a solo operator my time is valuable. I don't drive around to do free estimates anymore, but I also don't want to be the guy who won't answer a basic question without charging for it.

Where do you draw the line between being helpful on the phone and protecting your time with a paid visit?

hugehomepros · Answer

For sure don't be driving around - if you feel like you may want to be more face to face, look up Live Switch. You can do recorded facetimes and AI records it. You can even send them the link to upload it on their own. It's such a time saver, it's a no brainer.

On the giving advice, I've always been of the mindset to provide as much value as possible without expecting reciprocation. Will you have phone calls like that one here and there? Ya definitely but look at it as a good chance to practice closing people better. In the long term though, you will get more jobs than not and you will have a great reputation. If it really bugs you, ask them to give you a google review for the advice. 99% of people would say yes.

If you are really concerned with your time and really want the site visit, just be more ambiguous on the phone and tell them what you charge for a site visit ahead of time. I would probably argue you would rather tell that person on the phone that info then just getting $150 or whatever you charge just to tell them to their face then have them not use you. You want the job, not the site visit.

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How much free advice is too much before you ask for a paid visit?

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