Get a moving quote
Get a quote
Curriculum · Sales
Bretton and Dan on the hardest hurdle in the business — turning a quote into a closed deal with the right math and the right psychology, from base hourly rates to Good/Better/Best anchoring and the fixed-price promise.
“Most owners lose the job before the truck ever moves — on the phone, on price. Pricing is half math, half psychology. Get the math right, then make the standard quote feel like the bargain it is.
— Bretton & Dan, LocalMovers.com
Do the market research and calculate your true base overhead — labor, fuel, truck rentals, marketing spend — before you quote a single job.
The standard American local move runs roughly $100–$200/hour for two guys and a truck. Know where you sit in that band and why.
Phone quotes are fast but risky, video chats are a solid middle ground, and the old-fashioned in-person inventory walkthrough is the most accurate. Match the method to the job size.
Use bedrooms as a fast calculator — add roughly 1–2 hours of labor per bedroom to get an instant ballpark while you're still on the phone.
Always ask about stairs, elevators, and long walks from door to truck. These can add 20% to 2x to labor time and they're what blow up a careless quote.
Use Good/Better/Best: pitch the premium $2,000 White Glove service first so the standard $1,200 quote lands as the sensible bargain.
A guaranteed, non-shifting bid is a marketing weapon — it beats the clown competitors who sound unprofessional and quote loose hourly ranges on the phone.
Picking up the phone immediately matters far more than chiseling fifty bucks off a quote. Speed and certainty close jobs; haggling loses them.