Winter work

[Tree Machine]

I do as TeamTree, book Winter work well in advance, like starting in April. This is primarily big tree crown reduction. This way I look forward to deep Winter work, and of course just being out there often leads to more work.

I'm calling my Summer holdouts starting mid November and letting them know the 10% Winter discount rate is now in effect. That usually gets a few of them moving.


I'd like to comment on your mailing, Stewart. Let me post the information side,

hang on....

gimme a second

 

[Tree Machine]

Ok, everything looks pretty good, just needs some polishing.

Under Expert Pruning, last sentence, whenever a sentence reads as a negative (open pruning cuts, infection), perception is better if it reads as a positive. The sentence could read " Disease pathogens are less active, therefore the tree has a greater advantage in closing over our pruning cuts" or something to that effect.

Tree Removal. Looks good. Comma after 'Also'

Cable Bracing. Customers don't know the difference in terms, but we do. Cabeling and bracing are two distinctly different procedures. Just for professional correctness I wouldn't term the two together unless you're describing both cabling and bracing as separate services. Then you might as well throw in 'guying'. For simplicity, though, I'd stick with cabling alone. Maybe term it 'Cable Reinforcement'. Sounds strong and authoritative. Place 'aircraft-grade cable' in there somewhere for even more emphasis.

Just ideas. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Greenstar]

Just as some have already said...
With experience, you will start to identify proper opportunities and jobs to do in winter, and properly educate, advise, and sell your clients on it.

I am getting better and better at it. I have at least three or four big jobs scheduled for each month of January and February already just to pay the bills, and a lot of other littler tantative propositions which I have already primed the pump, the customer on so to speak already, and when the time rolls around when I want to do them, I will just call them, meet them out there, and do the job the next day for example..

I put off a lot of the more tedious, smaller, lower paying shrub and hand pruning jobs for winter. Pruning of fruit trees for old clients, etc.. The better you get as an arborist, the better you will get at identifying these perfect jobs, talking with the customer about it, and then not being fearful you will lose the job if you do not do it right away.
I'll often mention stuff to clients right after we finish a big job for them and they are telling me how nice of a job we did and good it looks and I am educating them on the trees, I'll then tell them it is important that they also do x, y and z in their yards, and then tell them that if they want me to call them when we are slow in the dead of winter and have more time, or sometimes eager to get out and work, when sometimes we may only be working 2 days a week, we can do the job for a much better price, and we can do the job for a much better price. They always like that and usually agree!!

 

[Tree Machine]

Well said, Greenstar. That's the voice of experience talking.

 

[Greenstar]

Ok, everything looks pretty good, just needs some polishing.

Under Expert Pruning, last sentence, whenever a sentence reads as a negative (open pruning cuts, infection), perception is better if it reads as a positive. The sentence could read " Disease pathogens are less active, therefore the tree has a greater advantage in closing over our pruning cuts" or something to that effect.

Tree Removal. Looks good. Comma after 'Also'

Cable Bracing. Customers don't know the difference in terms, but we do. Cabeling and bracing are two distinctly different procedures. Just for professional correctness I wouldn't term the two together unless you're describing both cabling and bracing as separate services. Then you might as well throw in 'guying'. For simplicity, though, I'd stick with cabling alone. Maybe term it 'Cable Reinforcement'. Sounds strong and authoritative. Place 'aircraft-grade cable' in there somewhere for even more emphasis.

Just ideas. Thank you for sharing.

I think the most important thing to mention when selling winter pruning work, which customers really get and understand, is the much greater efficiency and visibility in the trees without the leaves in them making the job take half the time. I am able to plan out te ptune so much easier, identify six or eight limbs that all need to come out in a given area for the proper design of the tree, fire up the saw, and just whip though big prunes in much less time. Visibility --> Much Greater Efficiency ==> Greater Value, and Better Prices!

e.g. Making the major structural and shaping cuts for fruit trees, improving the tree architecture, happens much easier in winter when the tree's scaffolding is highly visible. You can just get your long pole pruners or saws way up into the middle of a crowded fruit tree and prunes come out so much easier!:biggrinbounce2:

 

[Greenstar]

Well said, Greenstar. That's the voice of experience talking.

Thank you! :rockn:

 

[StewartTreeCare]

Ok, everything looks pretty good, just needs some polishing.

Under Expert Pruning, last sentence, whenever a sentence reads as a negative (open pruning cuts, infection), perception is better if it reads as a positive. The sentence could read " Disease pathogens are less active, therefore the tree has a greater advantage in closing over our pruning cuts" or something to that effect.

Tree Removal. Looks good. Comma after 'Also'

Cable Bracing. Customers don't know the difference in terms, but we do. Cabeling and bracing are two distinctly different procedures. Just for professional correctness I wouldn't term the two together unless you're describing both cabling and bracing as separate services. Then you might as well throw in 'guying'. For simplicity, though, I'd stick with cabling alone. Maybe term it 'Cable Reinforcement'. Sounds strong and authoritative. Place 'aircraft-grade cable' in there somewhere for even more emphasis.

Just ideas. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you Tree Machine, I really appreciate the pointers.

 

[ND_ash]

We are very fortunate this year so far the ground has barely even frozen and no snow. Tree work is still going strong and will probably continue until the snow stops it. Then its time for the Bobcat 580hrs last winter. View attachment 116603