If you have ever hired any type of contractor to do work in your home, you know there is a wide range of service providers out there. Perhaps some were highly recommended, or the pricing was right, or you had a very specific type of work to be done.

Recently, I had to find an electrician to fix my broken attic fan. I called five different companies. I found three of them on the web (doing a search for electrician Rockville). I got one name from a friend and the other name from a store that sold lighting fixtures.

The first one quoted a rather high price, but was available pretty quickly and said it had gotten high marks on Angie's List. The second also quoted a high price, but specified what type of fan would be installed and asked questions about the height of the ceiling. The third quoted a lower price, and had good recommendations on Google. The fourth was pretty expensive, asked specific questions and was too busy to do anything for a couple of weeks. The last one was personally recommended, but seemed unable or uninterested in providing an estimate over the phone.

I eliminated the last one because he clearly wasn't interested in the work. I eliminated the fourth one because he wasn't available for quite a while. I eliminated the first one because he did not ask questions and his quote was by far the highest. It was between the second and third quotes, and I ended up with the third because they had given me a range (meaning that they would base the final price on what actually needed to be done).

When the electrician showed up, he didn't introduce himself. He did not give me a card. He did do the job requested at a reasonable price, and very quickly.  I thought that the company that sent him needs to learn a few things about marketing.

Here are few lessons to be drawn.

1.  Having a findable website with the right information is crucial.

2. The person who answers the phone makes or breaks the sale. The more informed and pleasant that person is, the easier it will be to close the deal.

3. Give your service providers some guidelines and information. Have them introduce themselves. Make sure they know about any service warranties and other procedures.

4. Make sure the service provider gives a business card or brochure along with the invoice.

5. Follow up! Very few, if any, contractors follow up to make sure the work is satisfactory to you. It's a missed opportunity to get testimonials and to build goodwill.

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