Why Your Price Isn't the Problem — It's How You Present It

Your quote comes in higher than the other guy's, the client balks, and suddenly you're on the defensive. But the price was never the real issue — it's that you're being treated like a vending machine instead of a guide.

In this Coaching Cuts episode, Clark breaks down a mindset shift that changes how you present money to clients — both in your estimates and in your change orders. Stop being the bad guy. Start being the advocate who curates exactly what the client wants, at the budget they actually have.

Clark covers:

• Why detailed, honest contractors almost always look "more expensive"
• The steakhouse analogy that reframes how you handle price objections
• How to align a client's scope with their budget instead of chasing a cheaper bid
• Why you never go source a "$10 steak" just to land the job
• The single most important shift: empathy, not apology
• How to deliver a change order without taking blame that isn't yours
• Why acting scared or guilty makes the client think it's your fault
• How to meet a client's disappointment without owning a problem you didn't cause

If you've ever felt guilty quoting your real price or apologized your way into eating a change order, this is the episode that fixes your mindset.

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Transcript

Welcome And Coaching Focus

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Welcome to Contractor Cuts. My name is Clark Turner. Thank you so much for joining us again today. So, today we're doing another Coaching Cuts episode. Next week we continue like normal with me and James. But today I wanted to cover something that keeps coming up in coaching. I think it's a really good thing that we can we can go over a mindset issue today on the Coaching Cuts podcast. What we are going to talk about is two different points of dollars with clients. Number one, the estimate, how we present it uh dollar-wise, and how we make sure that I'm not the bad guy, but I am the guide, the person walking the client through getting their renovation, their new construction, their commercial, but whatever we're doing, I am guiding them through it and I am the hired help. I am I'm their assistant, their client rep, their person that is representing them and advocating for them to get the job done. Um in the mindset of what that looks like versus the way most contractors do it, which is more of a transactional, like they're going to a store and buying that renovation from somebody. So I'm going to talk about that to get going, and then that's going to transition to part two, which well, it's all in one podcast. But the second part of what we're going to talk about is change orders and the same mentality with those. Um there's a lot of times that we get stuck feeling bad, taking blame, getting feeling guilty about a change order that has to happen. And so I'm going to talk about the mindset of how do we approach those differently in a better way that is more client-focused and also like a team.

Estimates As Guidance Not Transactions

SPEAKER_00 2:38

So starting at the beginning with presenting estimates. One of the biggest issues that we have of being an honest, detail-oriented general contractor is that oftentimes our quotes are more expensive than the next guy. We are higher detail, we have the full scope, and then the other guy just puts some round numbers and he's going to have change orders once the job starts. Um, and we do high-quality work. We're not just picking guys up from the side of the road to come do some work for us. All of our crews are vetted, really, you know, really good craftsmen at what they do, high, you know, high-quality electricians and plumbers. And so the product that we're putting out is sometimes more expensive than other people. So one spot that we get in trouble, though, is when our clients start comparing us to another quote that they got, or I got a buddy that can do it for

The Steakhouse Pricing Analogy

SPEAKER_00 3:24

X. The mentality that I want you to have with this is you have a steakhouse. This is how we do our steakhouse, this is really nice. This is the type of steaks we serve, it's how we serve them. This is where people come because they know it's really good quality, really worth the price, delicious, and this is this is a worthwhile investment. The problem is our clients have now talked to their buddy who just a couple days ago went to Waffle House and got a steak for $10. And so they come to us and say, Hey, I'm looking for a steak, Clark. Uh, I know you've got a steakhouse. What do you got? And I say, okay, let me send you a quote. And so he goes and gets a couple quotes from other people, one's from um Waffle House, and then he gets another one from Outback, a little bit nicer, but not a high quality. And then all of a sudden I give him a quote, and the out the Outback quote was 25, the Waffle House quote was $10. My quote is $58.50. And that's for the base level of what he's looking for. Uh, and so he comes back and says, Clark, you're five almost six times more expensive than this other guy. And I said, Well, let's talk about it, let's look at the numbers. And so, if what all I'm doing is transactional, if all I'm doing is sending him a quote that's $58, and then he gets two other quotes, one for $10 and one for $5, I'm 0% chance of landing that job. It's just transactional. This is how much it is, this is what you're getting, because I'm thorough, I'm detailed. Those other quotes are going to end up being closer to $30, maybe $40 for their stakes. Uh, might not be as expensive as my stake, but the quality level is totally different. Um, the way we prepare it, the how we do things, your experience when you walk into the ambiance of our place. Everything that goes along with that, the price on that steak is why people are willing to pay that different level and the expense it costs to work with us, right? When you walk into Waffle House, it's a different experience, different ambiance, different different price point altogether, um, different experience. Nothing wrong with Waffle House, uh, but at the same time, most people, when it, you know, a meal you get three times a day every day, when we come to a renovation or a new construction, you're you're doing it once, maybe twice in your lifetime. So if you only have a chance to eat one meal in the next 12, 15, 30 years, would you rather have the one meal at Waffle House or at a high-end steakhouse? Right. And so what I want to do with those clients is not just be a price point for them to see what we're pricing. I want it to be a relationship to where I'm guiding them through, where I sit down with them and say, okay, look, talk to me about what type of food you want. I am a I've been a waiter at a bunch of different restaurants. I now own my own. Let's orchestrate a meal for exactly what you're looking

Align Scope With The Budget

SPEAKER_00 6:06

to do. And so all of our processes that we that we coach on from intake to desk estimate to side estimate to revision, every single step that we have is guided through saying, hey, client, let's sit down, let's talk about what you are wanting for this meal. And let me, as your representative, as your advocate, put together the perfect meal for exactly what you guys want. So I start, okay, what do we tell me, dream? Send me your Pinterest, send me that. Let me see everything that you want out of this meal. Oh, you really like this and you're allergic to that. Okay. And I'm starting to help them uh put together what they might not even know what they want visually uh with their project. Um, once we start putting together, I say, listen, what we're talking about here for this meal, for uh, you talked you wanted the filet mignon, you you like it super lean, you don't like a bunch of fat in yours, but you like a thick cut of a fillet. Okay, great. And so we start talking through it. I'm at that point working with them to say, okay, so that the price point for the fillet you're talking about, that's a $68 steak. Uh now the sides that you're talking about, we've got a lobster mac and cheese, which is really expensive. We're gonna throw some fries in there. What talk to me about what you like for sides, right? And so my job as a contractor is to have that conversation with them. To have the, okay, let's talk about your kitchen renovation, let's talk about that new build that you want to do. I want to understand your vision. And then I also next start want to start pulling numbers together to understand, for you to understand what the price is for the different visions that you have. I'm not the bad guy. I'm not the guy that's trying to take money out of their pocket. What I am is trying to curate a meal for them that they want and that they're willing to spend money on. But also, when I come in and say, okay, so what we've put together for this meal, you're gonna be around $150 for everything you want. And they say, Whoa, I don't want to spend over $50. Cool, let's let's go back. Let's let's slow it down. My steakhouse is a really good burger. We have a really good burger at our steakhouse. It's gonna be a quarter of the price of that steak. Now it's not steak, obviously. It's a really good burger. Let me show you that. Let me let's talk about what that burger would would be like. And so my job to get their price down is to not try and go source a $10 steak. So my nice steakhouse is now selling $10 steaks. My job is to uh make sure that they understand, hey, I don't sell a $10 steak, and here's why. I can't stand behind it, I don't like the quality. Um, you're not gonna have a good experience, and then you're gonna leave a one-star review for me because you're gonna blame me for that experience when all you wanted to do was spend $10 on a steak. Right. And so for me, I'm curating that meal. If they don't have the money for the exact meal they want, my job is to say, hey, that's fine. Let me show you what you can afford. Let me show you what fits into the budget that you have. And if you want that steak, you just have to have the money to figure out how to get the money for eating that steak, or you're not gonna get the steak. Right. And so, my my job on the front end estimate, if I can sit with the client and if I can guide them through the process and why costs are what they are, usually and switching over from the restaurant to uh construction, for the most part, I'm not gonna be 50% more than that, the next guy. If I am that far off on their quote, it's because they underbid something, they missed something. I guarantee you aren't our quotes aren't apples and apples. I've got more detail caught, which uh which then increases the price that they are gonna eventually change order my client for if they go with that client contractor, because they didn't think about that they also had that they didn't budget for flooring. Oh, but now that we're in here, we got to change these floors out since we're demoing the cabinets. All right, that's a change order, 10 grand for the floors because they all run through your living, right? And so all the other contractors that are undercutting our pricing actually don't have a complete scope or are selling an inferior product, right? If you have the same scope, the same quality level that we have, and the same scope that we're doing, we should be within 5% of each other. Um, that is where we position ourselves in the market. Um, because of that, the client, when all they see is dollars, they're gonna pick the other guy. If they can understand the quality, nine times out of 10, we're landing, you know, I want 85 to 90% close ratio. That 10 to 15% of people that say no, I want that to be the case because all they care about is price point. And I'm not willing to sell a $10 stake because I know the quality that people are gonna start complaining about. And that $10 stake is what they're they're not happy with at the end of the job. So that's the front end. We want a different mentality of being a client representative and an advocate for them to where we do uh one of the examples I always use with my my coaching clients too is let's say you and your spouse were gonna do your kitchen. Now you're in construction, so you know more than they do, so you're gonna kind of put together the the quote and figure out uh some selections and and kind of really uh plan run point on that project, you're not gonna go to your wife or husband and say, Hey, I got some really bad news. Um the kit the kitchen that we're and it's it's this I'm guilty because I can't get you the $10 stake mentality. It's I'm guilty I feel guilt because what you want, I can't get you, and somehow it's my fault.

Empathy Versus Apology

SPEAKER_00 11:17

If you walk away from this podcast with one thing in your brain, it's this I want empathy, not an apology. I I want you to be empathetic to their situation. I don't you want you to apologize because you can't give them what what they're what they uh are is unrealistic, right? So let me give you an example of that. Empathy versus apology. Now, when I say apology, if let's say you have a sick parent, um for me, empathy is oh my goodness, I'm so sorry your dad's sick. What can we do to help? Like what how can I help you? What do you need? Why don't I why don't we bring you dinner tomorrow? Right. And so that's empathy. There was an apology in there. I'm so sorry your dad's sick, but there's no ownership of the of the issue, right? If I rear-end your car, I'm so sorry I hit your car. That's on me. I'm so, and it's my fault, and it's ownership of the issue.

Change Orders Without Guilt

SPEAKER_00 12:13

When we get to change orders, and sometimes it happens on the front end too with pricing, but when we get especially into the change order section where all of a sudden we open um, I was gonna say open up a wall and termites are there. I I think another example is you know, we are um the client wants something specific, and it turns out, you know, we're digging a trench and there's too much rock in the trench, right? There's too much um all of a sudden we can't run the plumbing because there's rocks everywhere. And this is a true real example that we've had recently. Um that's not our fault. We have a budget in mind for digging that trench. Uh, not in mind, we have a signed quote from uh for the price of the trench uh and the water line to bring it from the plumber. When the plum, when we trench it out, there's a ton of rock, the plumber's like, listen, this is gonna break our our our line. This isn't gonna work. I need to, you know, we need to dig it out. We need to pour some fresh dirt in there. We need, and there's a whole quote system around what the actual cost is gonna be now that we started digging into the ground. That is a change order that is not my fault. I didn't know about the dirt, I didn't know that it was a ton of stone right there where we were running the water line in. That is something that I'm so sorry that you got to pay extra money for. I'm not so sorry that it's my fault. There's no uh there's no apology for needed. I I'm empathetic towards it, right? And so when we bring those type of change orders, we there's two ends of that spectrum. Either, you know, where people get it wrong, either they they act like it's their fault, and so they're trying to, you know, they're they're losing money and they're they approach the client in the way the client picks up and saying, Oh, this must be his fault, the way he's talking about it, right? That's one side. The other side is apathetic. I don't sorry, that's that's what it is. Sorry, take it or leave it. I can't do anything. What do you want to do? Not have water to your house, right? And so those are both wrong. We want to be in the middle. We want to say, hey, this stinks. I'm so sorry about what's going on, but we got to figure out how we're gonna run this water line in. Here's some options. I got an I got a bid for $15,000 to do X, Y, and Z. We're gonna reroute this, we're gonna have it this way, we we're gonna dig this rock out. That is, uh you know, I would I've got two other bids coming because I feel like that's still pretty high. Once we get a final number and I talk to some other uh guys to talk about it, I'm gonna bring it, we're gonna sit down, we're gonna figure this out. In the meantime, let's look at the rest of the scope. If this is something, if that 15K is not gonna be something that we can handle, let's figure out where we can cut it out somewhere else. Let's look at our finishes, let's look at X, Y, and Z. And so I am sorry that that's a change order. I don't want you to spend extra money. It's not my fault. Like I'm here for it. You know, I'm here to fix the issue, but I I am your representative, I'm your advocate. It's same, like I said, with your spouse, renovating your kitchen. Oh man, this stinks for us. Oh man, there's a termite damage in the wall. That stinks. I'm not going to my wife hat in hand saying, I'm so sorry. I should have known there was termites that could have been in that wall. And I'm just gonna, right? Like it's a different empathy versus ownership and apology. Uh now I hear me. I am number one on everyone needs to own whatever they've done on a job site. Um 100%. But in change order situations that you didn't have a fault in, we aren't going, I am so sorry, this is so bad. Is there and when we go with that attitude scared to talk to the client, scared they're gonna start yelling at us, that comes across to the client like it's our fault because there's something to be scared of. There's something that they should be angry with. So what I want to do is I want to meet the client's um disappointment level, right? So I'm going to be, you know, uh passionate about be and being upset about it, right? This is not good. I'm not happy about this. I've got some quotes, I'm doing this to fix it. It's gonna be about 15 grand extra. I'm trying to figure it out, right? I'm empathetic because I know that's a lot of extra money. I'm empathetic because I wish we would have known this, but there's no way to know. The other side of it though is I'm not taking responsibility for needing that change order. So on the front end, we want to do the same thing, empathetic towards the client, and and really it's less empathetic because uh versus on the front end, it's less empathetic versus um apology, because on the front end, it's more understanding the scope and them choosing us. Once you get signed and we go into change orders, that's where start blame starts getting placed on you as a contractor. So main thing I want to uh I want to drive in is that is front end, what we're gonna do is be their guide, their their um advocate in the situation to say, hey, let's figure out the meal that we want to pull together for you. Let's figure out exactly what you want, and let's look at your budget around that. Let's make sure that the steak that you want, hey, you know what? You've got X, Y, and Z as your budget. Maybe we do an eight-ounce steak instead of a 16-ounce steak, and that's gonna save you some cash, but you'll still get the great steak. Right. So my job is to be the waiter curating the meal on the budget that they have, not to be all right, you only have $10 for a steak. Let me, I'm gonna go see if next door they can cook this up a $10 steak and then I can get you your $10 steak. Is that good? That desperation to land the job and to do whatever price point that the next guy down the street quoted them. What I really want to do is curate exactly what they want and the price point they have. And my job is to line up their price and their scope. So they're on the same exact level and they fit together. That's the front end. And then once they're locked in and we do have change orders, I want to make sure that I am empathetic 100%, but also not apologetic because things cost what they cost. Right. So hopefully that helps

Coaching Invite And Winter Retreat

SPEAKER_00 17:58

you a little bit. If you want to talk deeper about this, I would love to chat with you. If you email me at Clark at Prostruct360.com, I'd respond. We can set up a time to uh talk. You can also go to contractorcuts.com. And on contractorcuts, you can sign up for a one-on-one meeting directly with me. My calendar is on there that you can click on and reserve a spot. I'd love to chat with you if you're interested in coaching. And very soon we got signups for the retreat. Come on the winter retreat. If you do nothing else, don't come into coaching, don't want to do anything else. That's fine. Come to this winter retreat. It is the 2027 conference we're doing in Austin, Texas this year. It is really cool. It's a three-day program, two days of a retreat, the third day is the workshop. It's gonna be really awesome. If you haven't signed up yet, go to contractorcuts.com. You can email us. We we're getting signups set up this week, and next week is when we're launching all the emails. So we'll put you the wait list will hear from us in the next couple weeks. Um, but if you want to get on the wait list, email us. We'd we'd love to get you scheduled. We also got some giveaways to people that are on the wait list that are coming early. So definitely hit us up, contractcuts.com. Um, get involved. We'd love to see you there. And thanks so much. We'll talk to you guys next week.