the impression i usually get from homeowners is that i am the ONLY bid they are getting until they see my $. Some are referrals and in that case id expect to be the only bid...

people typically have a budget of 1/2 of what it is...when they see my $ its a shocker...they have to get other bids to check to see if its legit.

Small job referrals = i get every one
medium/large job referrals = my ratio is much worse..maybe 50/50