THE MOMENT IT HAPPENS

It will happen this week. A customer calls, you give them a price, and they come back with: “I’ve had a cheaper quote from someone else. Can you match it?”

Most gas engineers handle this badly. They either drop their price immediately, which tells the customer their original quote was inflated, or they get defensive, which loses the job entirely.

There’s a better way.

UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE ACTUALLY ASKING

In most cases, they’re not asking you to be the cheapest. They’re asking you to justify the difference.

They liked you enough to come back. If they’d already decided to go with the cheaper quote, they wouldn’t be calling.

KNOW WHAT YOU’RE COMPARING AGAINST

A quote from an unregistered gas worker will almost always be cheaper. They don’t carry the costs of Gas Safe registration, professional indemnity insurance, or the ongoing training and assessment that registered engineers are required to complete. They’re also, in many cases, operating illegally.

That’s not a like for like comparison, and you’re entitled to say so.

A straightforward response:

• “I can’t speak to their quote, but I can tell you what’s included in mine. I’m Gas Safe registered, which means my work is legally compliant and you have recourse if anything goes wrong. I carry full public liability insurance. And I’ll provide you with the correct certification on completion. If their quote doesn’t include all of that, it’s not the same job.”

BE WILLING TO WALK AWAY

Not every job is worth winning at the price that wins it. If a customer’s decision is based purely on cost and they’re not interested in the difference in what they’re getting, they’re probably going to be a difficult customer anyway.

The jobs worth winning are the ones where the customer understands the value of what they’re paying for.

TWO MARKETS, PICK ONE

The market for cheap, unregistered gas work is real. So is the market for gas engineers who are professional, reliable, properly registered and easy to deal with.

You don’t have to compete in both markets. In fact, you can’t, not sustainably.

MAKE IT EASY TO CHOOSE YOU

What you can do is make it easier for customers to find you, understand what they get when they hire you, and book you quickly. That means having a clear, professional online presence, responding to enquiries fast, and making the booking process as simple as possible.

When a customer can get a quote, confirm a booking and receive their certificate all through a single professional system, the price conversation feels different.

You’re not just a gas engineer. You’re a business. Price yourself like one.