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What is the cost of showing up for a bad fit? 

Post date :

May 13, 2024

We’re going through how to calculate the cost you are paying for showing up to prospects that are a bad fit for your business. 


Why is someone a bad fit in the first place?

They consistently give bad reviews to businesses regardless of the level of service

They are not financially aligned to your products or services and can’t afford them

They have a history of payment issues with other service businesses

They are extremely difficult to work with and have unrealistic expectations


Download a free calculator to see how much you spend to have a team member show up. 


Field Costs
  • Travel Time and Gas Expense: There is a minimum cost of the time you spend traveling to and from a job site and to fuel your truck.

  • Truck Costs: Consider how many jobs a tech can handle in a day and the cost of their vehicle per arrival? This should include lease costs as well as maintenance costs, insurance and any parking expenses for your fleet.

  • Tech Expense: Include the entire cost of a team member (not just salary or hourly fees) with things like insurance, gear, taxes, etc…


Back Office Costs
  • Booking & Dispatch Time: Include the cost of any time that is spent by your team communicating with the prospect and routing their appointment. 

  • Software & Tools: Consider your entire digital tool costs associated with booking calls - things like your field management system, your website, and call systems. 


Other Costs
  • Lead Cost: Calculate how much you spend per qualified lead by taking your entire add spend and comparing it to how many booked appointments you get a year. 

  • Reputation Cost: This is the value you ascribe to a good vs a bad online review. Ask yourself, ‘How much would I pay for a good review or to avoid a bad one?’

  • Opportunity Cost: Any job you spend time on that is a bad fit, is potentially another job you couldn’t take that was a better opportunity. When you are thinking about your cost of leads, you want to be able to prioritize the ones that are the best chance to create long term value vs treating them all as if they were the same. 


Understanding your overall cost to serve can help you proiritize the best opportunities and also set pricing and trip charge minimums that reflect the true cost to your business.