Write up the quote, not on all the types of floor, but something that is best for the house. Include all taxes, labor etc., so they can see what the final cost will be. BE TRANSPARENT. That alone will set you apart from other sales people.
Leave the quote with them, and be sure to tell them to call you if they have any other questions. You have all the measurements, and subfloor specs, so you’d be glad to quote a different style of floor over the phone. Leave at least 3 references, without asking, on the back of the quote. Now, if you’ve been doing great work, there will be no need for you to call these references and prepare them for a call from your prospective client. If you are worried about what your past customers are going to say about you, just what the heck have you been doing anyway!
You might consider calling these prospective clients back after about 2 weeks. But I rarely do. If they believe you are desperate for the work, they may try to beat your price down or try convincing you to add expensive extras for nothing. So just sit tight and wait until they call you. If by then they still want a reduced price, here’s what to suggest. Tell them they could certainly save some money if they did some of the work themselves. Like removing the carpet, moving the furniture or even ripping up worn out old hardwood. They may be able to handle simple renailing or repairing of the subfloor. Give them an exact quote on what each part of the job will cost to do, so that you can start adding up the savings if they wish. Sometimes the owners will be glad to do some of the grunt work themselves.
I even go a step further than this and suggest they just let me install the floor (that they have purchased at a wholesale level), and sand it only. Then I promise to coach them through the finishing of the floor themselves. When I have done my coaching well, the job will turn out as good if not better than most of the so called professional floor jobs. The final cost will then be quite competitive with the lowest price in the city. Your clients will have spent a few weekends following your precise instructions, and they are now talking about your prowess as a wood floor teacher though-out the neighborhood. You have gained their trust, and this will blossom into more jobs that you can handle. You will not have to be the lowest bidder anymore. They will know they are getting good value for their money when they hire you.
You can usually do this cooperative type job for about half to 2/3 of the price of a finished job and if you send him/her to the Wood Floor Doctor.com web site, to read and down load one of our How To articles you will hardly will have to do any coaching at all. I have done all the detailed instructions already in my OMP (oil modified polyurethane) article. Your customer will have the best of both worlds, an excellent and beautiful but cheap job.