Small to large bid transition?

[Blakesmaster]

I bid everything as "amount of time to complete project times hourly rate" and that is what it costs.

That's the way I bid this job as well. Almost always the way I bid jobs. What kicked me in the a** on this one was that the work we did there was worth a lot more than just the time we spent. Like I said before, these were all very technical takedowns which should raise the price quite a bit simply because they were harder. Not just anybody with a set of spikes and a robe could have done them. We didn't lose money on the deal but we didn't make as much as we could have.

 

[southsoundtree]

Blake-

To get more out of the effort, you may want to call them and ask if you can drop by with some business cards for them to pass around.

You can casually tell them that part of your strategy is to find a good customer with some challenging work, as you know from experience that good people that get good work done for a really good price are your "word of mouth advertisers". You could have bid more, but you were in effect, hopefully paying for advertising, thanks for supporting a locally owned business, and please tell your family, friends, co-workers. Even smoothly add in an anecdote about how you got 7 jobs from a customer putting up your business cards on their busy office bulletin board with their name along side the cards so the other office workers could get a reference.

No more outlay of expense, but maybe that simple suggestion will encourage them to sing your praises as a good businessman.

 

[Blakesmaster]

Sound advice, Sound. I think I'll drop by next time I'm in the area. They were a real good customer, nice people, they even kicked in a little tip for a "case of beer".

 

[Slvrmple72]

Somewhere in this thread lurks the " Complete Guide to Bidding Treework Fairly and Professionally " Thread. I have to ask, " Has anyone been guilty of bidding a nasty job ridiculously so as not to get it and then win it?" What did you do next? Gory details please! Blakes, I know your pain. It is the pain of bidding experience that will linger like those aches and pains from a long day(s) in the saddle. Hang in there, Bud! What doesn't kill ya only makes ya stronger! ( and hopefully smarter )

 

[oldirty]

Somewhere in this thread lurks the " Complete Guide to Bidding Treework Fairly and Professionally " Thread. I have to ask, " Has anyone been guilty of bidding a nasty job ridiculously so as not to get it and then win it?" What did you do next? Gory details please! Blakes, I know your pain. It is the pain of bidding experience that will linger like those aches and pains from a long day(s) in the saddle. Hang in there, Bud! What doesn't kill ya only makes ya stronger! ( and hopefully smarter )

if you bid a job double because you dont want to do it, then get that job. hell you go over there laughing and take your time, knowing you got time and loot on your side. sure takes the sting out of the job if you making double on it.

 

[Norwayclimber]

I once bid a pine hedge, that I really didnt want to do. No acsess for bucket, aprox 4 meters high (16 fot), 3 meters wide (12 fot) and 30 meters long. All I had to do was to cut it back down, to where it had been cut for a couple of years ago. But i really didnt feel like crawling about/trying to float on top of the hedge with all the needles getting all over my body. So I gave a bid at 7500 nkr (thats about 1400 $), and thought that was that, and drove happily away. A few days later the customer called back and wanted me to do the work. I later came by and did the job, useing between 3-4 hours, happpy that the customer was at work, so they didnt see how little time I used.

 

[PTS]

The one thing that I struggle with on bidding a job for more based on difficulty is that in small town Iowa everyone talks. SO if it is a small pine or a large nasty removal people talk about how much it costs but not how much of a pain it is or or how big or small it is. I always fear the "it costs $XXXX.XX to have them take a tree down." That can be positive or negative advertising. It is at that point that we need to become educators and explain exactly why the tree is going to cost what it is. I have been doing a better job of this for the past year or so and to be perfectly honest I think it has made a 180 degree turn around to the positive. It is nice to be told that you weren't necessarily the cheapest for the project however they want to hire you because it is obvious you know what you are doing and the competition doesn't seem to.

 

[TomSawyer]

Thanks PTS, I need to do a better job myself. Like those Maples I did last week: Sure 1700 bucks is a lot of money, but 25 cord is a lot of wood to haul away! Don't forget to charge people more for a dangerous tree.

 

[highasatree]

I have no problem putting a high price on any kind of large removals. I try never to low-ball these kinds of jobs because it usually will come back to bite you big time.
Bidding on contract work I've mentioned to my compeditors to keep there prices up so whoever recieves the job will make some good money, and thats what we are all here to do

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

It is at that point that we need to become educators and explain exactly why the tree is going to cost what it is. I have been doing a better job of this for the past year or so and to be perfectly honest I think it has made a 180 degree turn around to the positive. It is nice to be told that you weren't necessarily the cheapest for the project however they want to hire you because it is obvious you know what you are doing and the competition doesn't seem to.

Speaking as a homeowner, that's who I'm going to hire every time, be it trees, septic, auto repair, whatever. If I judge you to be honest and competent, I'll pick you over a lower bid that doesn't stack up that way, every time.

No, not everybody feels that way, but I think you guys can spot the "price is king" types pretty quickly, and bid accordingly.