Why Hiring Carpenters To Estimate Is A Mistake

Owen sits down with Haydn, founder of Price to Plan, who transitioned from running his own building company to managing a team of 25 staff and 18 estimators. Haydn shares the story of how a nine-month recovery from surgery forced him off the tools and into the office, where he realized most builders are reactive, stressed, and quoting jobs they actually hate.

Haydn breaks down his “15 category” system for classifying project complexity and explains why he stopped hiring carpenters to do estimates and started hiring engineers instead. They also cover how to use “Love Letter” questions to filter out tire kickers and why getting a client to make a small time or emotional commitment upfront stops you from wasting weekends on free quotes.

🕒 Timestamped Key Points

• [02:37] The two biggest mistakes builders make: Reactive qualifying and rushing estimates
• [04:20] “I really don’t want this job, but I need it”
• [07:30] The “Love Letter” question that filters out bad leads
• [12:30] Using Time, Emotional, and Financial micro-commitments
• [22:40] How a 9-month surgery recovery forced him off the tools
• [32:40] Why engineers make better estimators than carpenters
• [36:40] The 15-category system for project complexity

***

The Professional Builder has helped over 3,100+ building companies around the world get more Profit, more Time and Succeed in Selling their Business.

https://tinyurl.com/tpb-yt

Subscribe to our channel for weekly, actionable insights. Tailored to help you grow a profitable construction business.

Want to Join our coaching program? Or just speak to one of our team to see if it’s the right fit for you? Hit the link below. Everything you need is there!

https://tinyurl.com/tpb-yt