Video Transcript
Hey everybody, this is Joe Reed with Home Run Solutions. When you’re following up with prospective contractors’ referrals – the names that they give you as testimonials to their past projects – have a list of questions ready for those. Make sure that the list that you ask client A is the same as client B and C. You want to make sure you get apples to apples comparisons for the questions you come up with.
Here’s a couple of samples that you should probably keep in mind. Just ask them what was it that you liked about the contractor? What made you feel comfortable going forward with them versus any others that you were considering at the time? What was it that you liked about them from the outset? Then, did they follow through with those things that you thought were important once the project began?
Ask them if they stayed on budget. That’s a key indicator as to how successful your project is going to be, and how happy you’re going to be with the end result. If they had cost overruns, dig in a little bit and see what was it that caused those. Are there any ways that things could have been mitigated or avoided – cost overruns or scheduled overruns?
Lastly, just ask them point blank, would you refer them out to family and friends? Would you use them again on your project? People tend to want to help out. If they have a good experience, they’ll rave about it to everybody, and they’ll speak the good praises. If not, they also make sure they give a warning sign out so you don’t get burned the same way perhaps they did.
Just some words of wisdom. I hope that helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out. Our website is a great reference point for prospective clients, and for new projects. We’ve got a downloadable E-Book there for you as well. It’s called ‘How to Hire a Contractor Without Contracting an Ulcer’. It’s got some great tips, checklists, good resources, and places to start having that conversation with prospective contractors before the project begins to ensure its success for you. Best of luck, thanks.