The Real Reason Your Proposals Aren’t Closing
You walked the job. You measured every room. You wrote a clean, fair, professional proposal. And then your prospect looked you dead in the eye and hit you with the five most expensive words in our industry: “Let me think about it.”
Or the all-time classic, this one has six words: “Let me check with my spouse.”
Here’s the truth nobody wants to hear. They’re usually not going to think about it. Half the time, the spouse doesn’t even have a strong opinion about carpet and is perfectly happy to let someone else make the call.
The doubt closed the door
When someone says, “Let me think about it,” what they’re really saying is, “I’m not quite sure about you yet.” It’s a polite door. They don’t want to say no to your face, so they hand you a soft maybe and hope you disappear. The price didn’t scare them off. The doubt did. Here’s the part that stings—a lot of the time, you’re the one who planted that doubt.
Be the doctor of dirty carpet
Let me give you a picture. Think about going to the doctor. The doctor looks at you, looks at the chart, and says with total calm, “Here’s what’s going on, and here’s exactly what we’re going to do about it.” You don’t say, “Hmm, let me sleep on it.” You trust that doctor.
Now picture a different doctor—one who scratches their head, shrugs, and mumbles, “Well, uh, we could maybe try something … what do you think?” You are sprinting to the parking lot.
You are the doctor of dirty carpet. Or hard floors. Or whatever you are cleaning. You are the specialist in that house. Diagnose the problem with confidence and prescribe the fix like you’ve done it a thousand times—because you have. If you present your price like you’re apologizing for it, you’ve already lost. Confidence is contagious. Unfortunately, so is doubt. Whatever you’re feeling when you say the number, they feel it, too.
People hire people, not proposals
Here’s the second piece, and it might be the bigger one. People don’t do business with proposals. They do business with people they like. Before you start talking fiber type, pre-spray, and pH, talk to the human standing in front of you. Notice the dog. Compliment the kid’s soccer trophy. Find the one thing you have in common and actually be a person for five minutes.
Rapport isn’t a sales trick—it’s the whole game. People hire the contractor they’d be comfortable handing a key to, not the one with the prettiest line items.
Don’t close a deal with a ghost
About that mysterious spouse who must approve everything? Beat the objection before it shows up. Early in the visit, just ask, “Is there anyone else who’ll be part of this decision?” If there is, get them in the room. You can’t close a deal with a ghost.
Put it together. Be confident, be likeable, and earn the trust before you ever say the price. Do that, and “let me think about it” turns into “when can you start?”
Your homework for this week
This coming week, here is what I want you to do. On your next three proposals, before you give the price, do one thing: spend the first five minutes just being a human. Ask about them, find one thing you genuinely have in common, then deliver your number, looking them in the eye, with a smile, and zero apology. Count how many say yes right there on the spot.
I think you’re going to be surprised.
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