Remodelers come across potential clients every now and then that throw a curve ball at the company, Michael Stone writes for Markup and Profit. Stone shares the example of an experienced, successful remodeler who was thrown a major curve ball during their vetting process and visit to the prospect.
The remodeler had a call with a woman describing a project within the company's target area, with a valuation and preliminary budget that aligned with the company. She threw a curve ball, though, when she said she was taking advice from the trustee of her deceased father's estate, and the trustee advised placing the name of the trust as the client on any contracts.
After a few initial concerns, the remodeler set up a meeting with the client and the trustee. After a walk through and review of the details for the proposed project, the remodeler again inquired about a budget. The new budget discussed at the house was different than what was communicated over the phone.
At that time, the trustee explained that there were two other trustees that he though he could convince, and he was a commercial construction attorney. He stated he would need to contract directly with our architect. I explained why we never do that as we approach our process as a team, and that team had not yet been selected. The contract would be with my company only. He insisted. When I asked him why he insisted, he replied that he wanted someone else to sue besides me at the end of the project when anything went wrong.
The remodeler walked away from the job, and Stone said it was chiefly because he asked the right questions to find out why things seemed off.
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