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Presenting a Winning Quote
Prospective funeral customers generally have no idea of what is involved in providing a funeral service and expect you to just throw out a number. However, a request for a funeral quote is more than just the price.
You need to use the leads received from eziFunerals as an opportunity to establish a relationship with the customer and showcase who you are, what you do and why you are the best funeral home in the area. Here’s how to do it.
You received a quote request
Responding to a quote request can be tricky business. Let’s say you get a lead from eziFunerals. The potential customer provides an email address only and is asking for a quote for a cremation. So you send them a quote and it’s a done deal, right? Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
You need more information. So, rather than responding with a quote straight away, you should let them know you’ve received their request and you would like to ask a few questions – to make sure that you meet their needs and your quote will be the right fit. Here’s an example:
Subject: RE: Request for Quote
Hi Joe,
I got your request from eziFunerals for a price on cremation. Would it be possible for me to ask you a few quick questions to make certain our quote is exactly what you require?
We could trade emails on this, but I find it’s quicker to do this on the phone. We’ll only need about 10 minutes. When would be a good time for you?
Fred Smith
ABC Funeral Company
Now that you have the prospect’s attention, you can ask discovery questions to meet their individual requirements. You can also ask qualifying questions so that you can identify and/or confirm their role in the funeral process and their budget.
Creating a conversation will both increase your lead win rate and improve your relationship with that client. “You will be viewed as a real person who sought first to understand rather than someone who simply wanted a quick funeral sale”. Once you have created the conversation and built their trust, you can send them the best quote tailored to their needs. A professional funeral quote should do the following things…
Gain their trust
Provide a brief statement about you, your experience and qualifications. They may like to know that you’re independent, trustworthy, family owned and care about the local community.
Let them know that you will support them before, during and after the funeral
They don’t know what they don’t know right! So let them know that the person they are dealing with by email or over the phone will be there every step of the process.
Make it clear what your price is, and itemise your professional fees, coffin and disbursements
Funeral consumers don’t understand funeral costs. So help them out. Breakdown the prices as best you can. Show them what they receive as part of your professional fees. Give them coffin options and explain that the disbursements are fixed fees from third parties. From my experience, most consumers are not looking for the cheapest price. They want quality and value for money.
Provide an incentive
A classic example is a discount for early payment. For example, you want cash flow, and the customer wants 10% off. Straight away you’ve given them the tool to secure the discount, but in a way that helps your business.
Look great and champion your brand
The way you present your quote can be as important as the content. If quality and professionalism is part of what you’re selling you want a quote that looks good.
And finally, eziFunerals members have a great profile
I’m surprised by how many members don’t invest some time into creating a great member profile on eziFunerals directory listings. That could be the first place a prospective customer could look at before visiting your website. So make it the best you can, so it stands out from the rest.
Should you send a follow up email?
Yes. You want to at least know that they received your quote. When you don’t hear back, it can be tempting to cut your losses and move on to the next client. The following tips can help you craft a highly-personalised follow-up email and maximise your chances of at least receiving a reply.
Reference your previous email
They might not remember your previous email. In fact, it might have gotten completely lost along the way. Here are some examples of what you can say…
- “Just checking in to see if you had a chance to have a look at my quote.”
- “I sent an email quote on [date], and I’m interested to know what you thought about it…
Write an attention grabbing subject line
You’ve got as few as two seconds to have them open your email. Use them wisely. Your subject line needs to be precise and address what needs addressing. Emails are way likelier to be opened with a sprinkle of personalisation, such as a name, in the subject line.
Length and tone
It’s best to stick to a friendly, but formal tone, get to the point and keep it between 50 and 125 words.
Don’t be pushy
While we encourage you to send a follow up email, it’s important to know that some people don’t like saying no. Don’t worry, there are plenty more leads in the sea. It’s better to spend your time on a prospective customer who wants to say yes, than one who simply can’t say no.
Peter Erceg
Peter Erceg is the Owner and Founder of eziFunerals. He has had a long history within the funeral industry, and is a published author of ‘What Kind Of Funeral: A self help guide to planning a meaningful funeral’. Prior to eziFunerals, Peter worked in the public sector and health industry for more than 30 years. The views and opinions expressed on posts are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of eziFunerals and members.
