How to Tell a Tire Kicker From a Real Customer Before You Drive Out to Quote

You know the call. Nice person, lots of questions, wants someone to come out and take a look. You block off an hour, drive twenty minutes each way, walk the job, take measurements, and send a number. Then you never hear back.

Do that three or four times a week and you've lost a full day to people who were never going to hire anybody. This post is about catching them on the phone, before you burn the gas.

Quick answer

Ask four things before you book a visit: what's driving the job, when they want it done, who else has to say yes, and whether they have a rough budget in mind. Real customers answer these without trouble. Tire kickers go vague on two or more. You can't read minds, so don't try to. Just let the answers decide whether you drive out, ask for photos first, or give a ballpark and leave it there.

What a tire kicker actually is

Not a bad person. Usually one of these:

Someone getting a number so they can bargain with the guy they already like. Someone who's thinking about doing the job next year, maybe. Someone who wants to learn what it costs before deciding if it's even worth doing. Someone whose partner hasn't agreed yet. Someone who plans to do it themselves and wants a price to feel good about that.

All of these are fair things for a person to do. The problem is only that you're paying for it with your day. So the goal isn't to avoid these people. It's to spend less on them.

The four questions

Say them casually, like you're just trying to understand the job. If it sounds like an interview, people clam up.

1. What's pushing you to do this now?

A leak, a failed inspection, a sale closing, a family coming for the holidays. Those are deadlines. A real deadline almost always means a real buyer. "Oh, we've just been thinking about it" means they might be a year out.

2. When would you want it done?

If they say "next couple weeks" or "before winter," good. If they say "no rush" or "whenever," note it. That isn't a no. But it tells you this one can wait for a slow day, not a prime morning.

3. Is it just you deciding, or does someone else weigh in?

This one matters more than people think. If a spouse, a landlord, a board, or a parent is paying, that person needs to be at the visit or at least know it's happening. Otherwise you quote the wrong person and get ghosted. If you want to see how this plays out after the fact, customer ghosted after site visit then came back is that exact story.

4. Have you got a rough number in your head?

Some people hate this question and some people love it. Either way you learn something. If they say "I figured about 4,000" (made up number, just an example) and your jobs like this run twice that, you've saved everyone a drive. If they say "I honestly have no idea, that's why I'm calling," that's fine too. That's an honest customer who wants help.

Signs you're talking to a price shopper

None of these on their own mean no. Two or three together usually do.

They won't say what the problem is, only that they want a price. They ask "what do you charge per square foot" and nothing else. They say they're getting five quotes. They push for a number over the phone before you've seen anything. They've got no date in mind. They can't tell you who else is involved. They get cranky when you ask questions.

You can still help some of these people. Just don't make a free drive the first thing you offer.

What to offer instead of a drive

Here's where you protect your time without turning anyone away.

Ask for photos or a short video. Most people will send them within the hour, and the ones who won't were never going to hire you. You can often tell the size of the job from five pictures and a few measurements.

Give a range, not a price. Something like "jobs like this usually land between this and that, depending on what we find." It's honest, it filters out the customer whose budget is way off, and it costs you five minutes. There's more on that in should you give a ballpark price over the phone.

Charge for the visit, and take it off the job. Not everyone wants to do this, but it works well as a filter. "I charge a small fee to come out and look, and it comes off the price if you go ahead." A real customer shrugs. A tire kicker finds a reason they don't need a visit after all. If you're on the fence about charging at all, should I charge for estimates lays out both sides.

Set a minimum. Small jobs are where tire kickers hide, because they feel low stakes. If your day isn't worth driving out for under a certain amount, say so early. How to charge a minimum for small jobs walks through it.

How to say it without sounding rude

The worry is always that you'll sound like you're doubting them. You won't if you frame the questions as helping you quote it right.

"So I can bring the right stuff and give you a real number, can I ask a couple things first?"

"Is anyone else involved in the decision? I like to have them there so I'm not quoting twice."

"I don't want to waste your time or mine. If you send me a few pictures I can tell you pretty quickly if it's in your range."

That last one is the best. It sounds like you're doing them a favor, and you are.

When to just say no

Sometimes the answers add up and the job isn't one you want. It's too small, too far, wrong trade, or the customer is sure you're overcharging before you've said a price. It's okay to pass, and you can do it without burning anything. How to turn down a job without burning the bridge has the words for it.

Track it for a month

Here's a number worth knowing. Of the visits you made last month, how many turned into paid work? If it's one in five, that's your real cost per job in time and gas, and it might be worth changing how you screen. What is a good close rate for contractor quotes gives you a way to think about it. You don't need to be fancy. A page in a notebook is enough.

And answer fast when a good lead comes in. A customer with a real deadline calls three people and hires the first one who sounds sure. How fast should a contractor respond to a new lead is worth a read if you're slow on texts.

Quick checklist

Ask what's pushing the job and when they want it done. Find out who else decides. Ask if they have a rough budget. Watch for two or more vague answers. Offer photos or a range before a drive. Think about a visit fee that comes off the job. Pass politely on the ones that don't fit.

Let something else do the chasing

Even with good screening, some real customers will go quiet after you send the number. Following up on all of them is a second job on top of the work you're already doing. That's what QuoteChaser is for. It watches every quote you send, follows up in your own voice when a customer goes quiet, and pings you the moment someone writes back, so your good leads don't slip away while you're on a ladder.

Join the QuoteChaser waitlist and stop losing jobs to silence.