I have read most of the posting here and find both sides of the coin to have valid points. I can easily argue any one of them as most of you can see there always seem to be the struggle between the installer/salesperson relationship. I have been in the industry for over 15 years now and run my own company. I have both installed and sold most of all of my jobs as I see it it's a valid point that the sales person needs to have some experience in the construction of a home in order to visualize the necessary efforts in getting a wire somewhere. If a sales person cannot do this than they need to be trained or have a lead installer walk the job prior to the proposal being given this not only makes your company look like you know what you are doing but it gives the customer the confidence to believe in the sales persons qualifications and even justify paying a higher price. Most people dont have a problem paying for necessary work it's when they pay for unnecessary work that they feel they should'nt have to so bring up these issues upon inspection but dont make it sound as such a monumental operation, say you will be "making an opening" instead of "making a hole" a surgeon doesn't "cut you open, they make an incision." your representation as an installer when it comes time to work in the finished home wether brand new or lived in with antiques will make the customer feel comfortable with there decision in hiring your company. treat there property with respect you arent the plumber or the refrigerator delivery guy so don't act like one and impress your customer you will get rewarded in many ways and they won't question your labor and your judgement act PROFESSIONAL and remember educating the customer and giving them the confidence in your proficency will keep you from having to justify you labor, come up with a formula for a prewire and post wire for the each product your installing and use this to bid out the work. I always bid on the higher side and if my customer asks why is the labor what it is I tell them that the estimated ammount is a maximmum labor cap that they will not pay more than this ammout for the installation however if the labor is less than they are only billed for what labor it takes.