High-balling jobs

[darryl gesner]

I was wondering if any of you deliberately high-ball jobs that you actually want. I know the practice of high balling for work we don't want is common.

I used to work as a ground man for a solo tree climber. He high balled all his bids and usually got them. When people would ask why he was so high (usually 30 to 40 %) he would just tell them it was because he was the best. He usually made at least $600 for just himself in a 8 to 9 hour day and another $150 or on my labor . Of couse, he had an excellent reference list and working in lower Fairfield County in CT where there is plenty of money.

I was thinking of getting a list of all alzheimers patients in the area and charging them $1000 per cut for mowing. What do you think? :D

[trimmasters]

I was thinking of getting a list of all alzheimers patients in the area and charging them $1000 per cut for mowing. What do you think?

yeah, thats real funny :mad:

[JEFF ZALMANOFF]

really dum or are you just trying to be funny !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Runner]

I think he just meant that as a joke, and I'm sure he didn't mean to offend anyone.

[darryl gesner]

Yes, Runner is correct. I apologize if I offended anyone. What I'm wondering if anyone deliberately prices well above the competition and has it work out for them. I'd be fine with making twice the profit and doing half as many jobs.

None of you have answered my question: "I was wondering if any of you deliberately high-ball jobs that you actually want." Around here, there are a lot of people with $$$ and they want the best of everything. If it costs more, it must be better, right.

[Brickman]

(I was thinking of getting a list of all alzheimers patients in the area and charging them $1000 per cut for mowing. What do you think?)


Get off this post if you want to be like that. We professionals have no time for this sort of thing.



We are not in this business for our health.

[darryl gesner]

Brickman - Did you read the rest of my post? Did you notice the smiley face indicating that I was kidding? Did you see my apology in a follow up post? I'm sorry if my comment was in bad taste, and I now regret it. Get over it. I am professional as they come and I would never take advantage of someone due to their medical condition.

[Brickman]

Sorry sir. I was hasty and didn't see the smiley face, or the later appology until after I posted my reply. I have Alzheimers relatives and was a little quick on the trigger.

[PR0 TURF]

Daryl,
Interesting post you put up...bet ya didn't think it would stir up that much controversy! Don't worry...i knew you were joking!
But i will be the first one to actually answer your question...No I have never used this method of bidding. It makes me wonder though...its a very common practice for jobs i could care less for. When it comes to jobs that i actually want i tend to bid a little more competitively...not lowballing...but not necessarily high-balling either. If that method of highballing proved to work it would be great...something ill have to attempt in the future.

[southside]

Someone called me a few years ago looking for a price to clear a large overgrown lot. I had a look at it and thought "no way",it was a nightmare job. Pile of boulders and rubbish everywhere.
So I rang them back and quoted an absolutely outrageous figure.
Somewhere around the $2000 mark for an acre lot. I thought
"no way they'll accept that price." Sure enough when I quoted
$2000 they said,"great when can you do it?"
I hate it when that happens. I was hoping they would get someone else.




:blob4:

[thelawnguy]

For co's who have ample work and no desire to add help, it seems common practice to price high and "cherry pick" the jobs you wish to keep. Much as I have been doing.

[Brickman]

I doubt if there is any body that won't jack up the price on a job that they don't want. I do, if it is a nasty job that I don't want, the price will go up quite a bit. Or when I am booked way full, I will inflate the price. I figure if I have to work over time then I need to be paid for it.

Most contractors will do that, no matter what business they are in. Put the price up when they have enough work, lower it when they need work. When I first started this business, I never would have expected to get the kind of money I do now.

That is the nature of bidding for jobs.

[MuskTurfKing]

If I don't want the work I will highball it hoping they won't use me, and if they do, I make extra money. Kind of a win/win situation.

Hank

[Tony Harrell]

I call that the "PITA FACTOR", it's a win/win if you get it. If it's that overpriced, you could sub it out and still win.

[yardboyltd]

I've learned never to high ball old people. It's not worth the hastle of having to deal with all the "extras" they thought were included with that HIGH price. It's not your time to explain to them why either...

[proline32]

Most likely most of us do not high ball as a regular sort of business approach, though i'm sure many customers would claim that we are high balling regardless of price.;)

[Garry]

I work almost exclusively in a area of wealth. I am a one-man operation(Okay, husband/wife team) and that's a huge selling point. I've put together a treatment schedule that is very strong in agronomics. Honed through years of experience, this schedule puts major emphasis on soil chemistry, plant monitoring and the simple fact, that one man who knows the landscape will, most likely, have better results than many men who don't (and don't really care to)

I will always consider myself very lucky to have had a agronomic relationship with the late Prof. C. Richard Skogley (Former Dean of plant science, URI) ..........................may he rest in peace.

If you want quality, then you must be willing to pay for quality. What you want, and what you need, are probably two different things. I've stopped asking years ago...............................Now, I just tell them.

Do not call me and tell me you're getting some prices together..................because I will tell you right out, I will be the most expensive. I've had people show me their "The 14 point" and I'm 4 times more expensive. I get this real blank look on my face, shrug............and kind of mutter something like "Hmmmmm, imagine that". Never talk unprofessional about anyone else in this business. Tell them that as you stress the importance of proper agronomics.

How does one stress the importance, that a sucessful business, must place, at the forefront , the need to simply keep accounts rather than focus on getting new ones.

If you can talk the game, that's great. But, when you do, you had better be able to walk the walk. I'll walk that fine line with you Mr Smith, because, belive me, I probably know alot more about this than you do or you wouldn't have wanted to talk to me about it. That said, this is what you need to do, and this is how much it's going to cost. Write up the contract. 50% down upon signing, a bill for 1/4 in July, and another 1/4 in Oct. (result of years of wasted paper work, late payments, no check taped to the door, etc)

I'm in the prime of my career. I'm almost 42 and have no desire at all of getting into the production game. There once was a time that big guy we all love to kick around was king. Man, those were the days......................................I hear too many wimp stories as of recent.....................I actually lived some worse.

I have this one account I've been treating for almost 6 years...................................I've met them twice. He pays me $2300 yearly and I'll bet I don't use much more than $150 worth of product per year. Nice profit ratio.

2+2+2+2+2=10.........................But, so does 5+5.

[klc]

just remember if you call a plumber or electrition its $50.00 service call plus parts why cant we make a nice living we do speciality work get all the money you can if they are to lazy better yet

[proline32]

Garry hit the nail on the head, He is being very professional in his approach, and I strive to do the same. Klc is correct that if you call a plummer or electrician, they charge way more per hour on average, and many times charge a trip charge to boot. But these other professions have an advantage that LCO's do not...... many of them pretty much charge the same for services so there is not a huge variance amongst them( they probably get together and talk it over). I like garrys approach and I am taking that style alot more this year, Letting the customer know up front that I won't come cheap, and if they are looking for cheap, call someone else. So far It is working..... when you can tell a customer that it will be $65 bucks just to clean up the edging on 250 linear feet of sidewalk and they ask when you can start, you know you are on the right track. If they tell you your too expensive..... hey no problemo, others will hire you. Just looking professional is a great start to making more $$ per hour.

[MuskTurfKing]

I like Garry's approach but his cocky attitude I don't. :rolleyes:

Hank

[SLS]

Due to a rather full schedule I have begun to high ball the potential clients that I want to service. If they accept...GREAT! If they don't...GREAT! I wont even bid on the crappy, hard to do, bi-weekly penny-pincher type lawn anymore. I work a small area so most are referals from existing clients...so the potential clients have, for the most part, seen my work and heard that I am friendly and dependable. This makes it easy.

Like thelawnguy, I too "cherry pick" my clients...and leave the rest to the mercy of:

http://bigrifle2.home.att.net/mowered.gif

The few that have called off of ads that I have ran and have asked why I charge what I do are shown that I use top notch equipment and are told the benefits of hiring someone who is insured. Once they find out that they are responsible for any "faux pas" commited by an uninsured LCO they almost always "see the light".

I believe that most people totally understand the old adage:

"You get what you pay for".

[jeffex]

I just bid on 4 properties together. The owner of two is also the property mgr. for the other two. I want the business because they will be my excuse to buy a lazer but I resisted going low. I went high and pointed out our slogan is "Delivering the VALUE of quality service". He said he is getting 3 bids and I told him up front I wont be the cheapest but I will make his life easier. I was highly recomended to him by one f my customers. If he chooses price as his only measure then I don't want the job anyway.

[ceaman]

Altzhimer's

There was a new car dealer local to us who sold 6 new cars in one month to the same man. He kept coming in saying that he didnt like the car he had now and trading in the one he bought a few days before. The dealership took advantage of him as a "cash customer" and played like they didnt know he had a problem. They made $60,000 off of this one man. Less than a year later his children figured out what happend and sued the dealer. They lost the case and also thier dealers licence. (The dealership is now under new ownership)

[leeslawncare]

One reason we can't get the $$ like plummers get is for all the scrubs in this biz! i don't think the plummers union lets any ol srub plummer in ! I will high ball if i don't really want the job.

[Garry]

I'm not trying to come across as cocky, and I'm sorry if I conveyed it. I've studied many, many, an hour to get myself to this point.

Don't look at it as being cocky.

Look at it as being confident at what I do AND have done.

My landscapes do most of my talking for me.

[proline32]

I wouldn't look at it as being cocky..... He is using a good poker face when he is quoting prices as the norm for him.... I used to do this when I was in sales...study the products real hard and inside out to the point that you almost could answer ANY question without a problem and then close the deal by quoting price.

It wasn't uncommon for me to sell top of the line house paint at $40.00 bucks a gallon when the discount places were selling cheap stuff at $11.00 bucks a gallon....It's all in presentation, attitude, knowledge, and sales skill. I spent years honing my sales skill to a point where you can anticipate a customer some, and have applied those skills to the LCO business.

[thartz]

I see Garry as being smart as to being up front.Most of my clients are tired of the guy that will promise the world for next to nothing and then not be dependable.Professional people seem to appreciate a professional appraoch ie. knowlede and confidence,since they feel you are experienced in yor field they will pay more for your services.If you can sell cow poo to a dairy farmer type salesperson that doesn't hurt either.

[Garry]

Scrubs have nothing to do with the failure or sucess of any company. Never lose sight of the fact, the underground economy is a driving force behind America's financial power. Scrubs (quickly becoming an umbrella term) inhabit almost all facets of the business world. Of course, we are lucky, scrub operations are rare in the nuclear industry, what we do, if you'll pardon another umbrella term is "yard work". And anyone who takes insult to that is probably lacking in self-esteem about what "we" do.

Almost anyone can mow a lawn or spread some fertilizer. In my 25+ years "out there" I've seen some major landscape projects done by the home-owner themselves. Had a man, 68 years old, dig a hole, fix a liner, install pumps, etc......................Then, blow my mind with a beauitful water garden. (it was amazing!)

Usually, the difference between a good job and a great job is less than 15 minutes of your time. Why would you ever waste it worrying about something that always has and always will, be a part of business? I'll bet the very first landscape company dealt with them too.

Ours is the business of a science. (my company name conveys that) Somewhere in the equation of what we do, we soon find these scrubs play an integral part. Hmmmm, "like what", you say.

Probably of most importance to the general public is the simple fact it keeps prices in check. Personally, my prices are so off................................A good scrub, could wreak havoc on my career. As a prevenitive, I equip myself with knowledge, a good presentation, and solid agronomics.

America is a nation of free enterprise. We should consider ourselves very lucky to live with such great opportunity.

If all the "scrubs" were to disappear tomorrow.....................as strange as it sounds, someday/some way, all business (as we know it) would disintegrate into chaos. For they very well might not be the backbone of business, but, they most certainly assist in its support.

So, what are you going to do?

Well, I quess just being on this site is at the very least, a start.

Tank- mix 1 part knowledge with 2 parts inteqrity...................just the smell of it keeps "scrubs" away.