Lawn Care Forum banner

Acceptible Estimating Vehicle

15K views 47 replies 24 participants last post by  S-205 
#1 ·
I've been giving a lot of thought to what kind of vehicle I should be using for estimates lately.

What does a Homeowner want to see a landscaper/hardscaper pull up to their house in? What fits the profile? Does it really matter?

For me, a truck has been the norm since I started. I've varied the "truck" from a half ton, to mini truck, to 3/4 ton, and presently a 1 ton.

Customers have told me they like the clean image we portray and it is a factor in their selection process. The truck tells a person that I am here to work and this is the tool of my trade. Am i right?

Would switching to a more practical car or SUV for this task be a bad idea?

I'm at the point of disbelief in our annual fuel costs and vehicle maintenance and want to change some things.
 
#2 ·
I think that you are right in how you believe that customers see your image. I'm not sure, but some potential customers may see you as a salesman if you are driving something disconnected from your work ... at the same time, a more sophisticated person might see you as controlling your overhead. .... a tough call. A mini truck might be the best call.
 
#4 ·
I was originally using an S-10 and all my clients liked that truck.

Unfortunately it got the same gas mileage as my current F-150 and I needed to upgrade to a shade bit heavier truck.

If we expand enough to where I need a dedicated gopher/estimating vehicle then it will probably be a small truck of some sort again with the most efficient engine possible.

I'd love to use a car, but then it's just a car and doesn't do much else.

I'm also seriously thinking about converting my vehicles over to natural gas, or propane to help keep costs down.

It's a conundrum none-the-less.

.....
 
#6 ·
I have thought a lot about this, and I do agree that an eco car with lettering all over it screams salesman.

-BUT-

You could mention it while you are talking prices and show that you do everything possible to keep operating costs down to keep your prices as competitive as possible.

It is a double edged sword where I am. You are just as likely to pull up to a Big Oil man rough neck millionaires house, as you are to pull up to an eco freak millionaires house. Both would look at it differently.

I would go with a small truck and call it a compromise.
 
#7 ·
Well, first of all, I don't think your average customer really cares a whole helluva lot whether we pull up in a pickup or eco car. I think most of them expect a contractor to pull up in some sort of truck. But one of my biggest competitors in town has these little Prius cars for all their salesmen/estimators. They grew by 18% last year and broke the $5Mil. in annual sales mark for the first time. So I'd have to say that just because they pulled up in a car rather than a truck didn't seem to effect their ability to land jobs at all.

I drive a full-size truck because I need a full size truck. With 28 employees, I'm obviously not the one out there installing landscapes or mowing lawns very often. But I am the one checking on jobs in progress. And often times I need a certain tool or a 12" sprinkler head, or a SAM head, some planting fertilizer bags, or any number of tools or parts that the crew may have run out of or forgot to bring. So having a lot of tools and parts in the back of my truck makes my company run a lot more efficiently. I also have a fair amount of gear like measuring wheels, material samples, etc. in the back. All this stuff wouldn't fit in anything else.

As long as you look professional and have a reason for driving what you pull up in, I don't think the customer really cares or thinks about it too much.

Now, if you pull up riding a Moped or Scooter, I think you may notice your % of sales decreasing. That would be because you would just look too odd. Similarly, if you pulled up in a Corvette, Mercedes, Hummer, etc. I think you'd also lose jobs. For one, they'd think you are definitely making too much. And for two, you'd come off like a pompous braggart. Same goes for some of these gigantic F-350, lifted, loud exhaust, dually, quad cab, mini monster trucks that I've seen a couple of landscapers in my area driving. I don't think that gets you too much respect. It makes you look like you are wanting attention a little too much.

Just keep it normal and professional and something close to what the client expects to see you in. Other than that, doesn't really matter.
 
#8 ·
I don't think that what you show up in to give an estimate is as big as deal as many would think, for the most part. Out here in So Cal I am starting to see more and more of the bigger companies putting their sales people and supervisors in small cars and hybrids. I think as long as you're rolling around in a modest vehicle and not a BMW or a Mercedes there isn't really an issue. When fuel prices were up around $4 a gallon last spring I went out and bought a Chevy Cruze to roll around in. It sure as hell gets better mileage than my truck does. On days when I know I need the truck I will drive it but on the days where I know I will spend most of the day driving and on the freeway I'll take the car. At 38 mpg on the highway it sure uses a lot less fuel than my truck does. Fuel prices are only going to increase so eventually I think that for most of us the issue will be forced and we'll all have to seriously consider smaller more fuel effeicent vehicles for wherever they fit into our fleets. In the year that I have been driving my Cruze around none of my clients have said anything. I had one who just causally asked in conversation and after I explained the reasoning to him he agreed that it made a lot of sense. Most people are smart enough to understand what makes for good business sense. As long as what you are driving isn't flashy or looks too expensive I think you can get away with it.
 
#9 ·
Maybe a hybrid is more suitable for you since your gas bill is fairly large.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#10 ·
Well, first of all, I don't think your average customer really cares a whole helluva lot whether we pull up in a pickup or eco car. I think most of them expect a contractor to pull up in some sort of truck. But one of my biggest competitors in town has these little Prius cars for all their salesmen/estimators. They grew by 18% last year and broke the $5Mil. in annual sales mark for the first time. So I'd have to say that just because they pulled up in a car rather than a truck didn't seem to effect their ability to land jobs at all.

I drive a full-size truck because I need a full size truck. With 28 employees, I'm obviously not the one out there installing landscapes or mowing lawns very often. But I am the one checking on jobs in progress. And often times I need a certain tool or a 12" sprinkler head, or a SAM head, some planting fertilizer bags, or any number of tools or parts that the crew may have run out of or forgot to bring. So having a lot of tools and parts in the back of my truck makes my company run a lot more efficiently. I also have a fair amount of gear like measuring wheels, material samples, etc. in the back. All this stuff wouldn't fit in anything else.

As long as you look professional and have a reason for driving what you pull up in, I don't think the customer really cares or thinks about it too much.

Now, if you pull up riding a Moped or Scooter, I think you may notice your % of sales decreasing. That would be because you would just look too odd. Similarly, if you pulled up in a Corvette, Mercedes, Hummer, etc. I think you'd also lose jobs. For one, they'd think you are definitely making too much. And for two, you'd come off like a pompous braggart. Same goes for some of these gigantic F-350, lifted, loud exhaust, dually, quad cab, mini monster trucks that I've seen a couple of landscapers in my area driving. I don't think that gets you too much respect. It makes you look like you are wanting attention a little too much.

Just keep it normal and professional and something close to what the client expects to see you in. Other than that, doesn't really matter.
Very similar to what I do. I have a few of everything in my truck.

I keep waiting for them to roll out a eco el camino... now that would be the real deal.
 
#11 ·
I keep waiting for them to roll out a eco el camino... now that would be the real deal.
Now that's what I'm talking about. Still no different then a 4 banging nissan sitting low to the ground though.

....
 
#12 ·
Just in my opinion unless you are a huge company that can justify having a gofer then use a truck. You will be able to use the truck for a lot more than the car. For me it is hard to justify spending around(don't wuote me) 12-15k for a gofer, I would rather just keep my personal truck that is lettered looking clean and professional. I don't know though this is one of the best/trickiest questions I have come acrossed in a long time.
 
#13 ·
I used to do estimates in the lexus es300 i had but swapped back to using the trucks because 99% of the people would make some sort of comment about the car as soon as i'd get out. I think for them they assumed i was too expensive, When in reality it was only like a 15k dollar used Lexus when i bought it. I think people don't like to see the landscaper get out of a nicer car then they drive.
 
#14 ·
It's funny, when I sold for a company in Phoenix my boss was all excited when I sold my S-10 and bought a 2500HD diesel. He really thought people would take me more seriously if I showed up in a truck. Now, I roll up in a Subaru Forester. I don't think it has any bearing on my sales success and I can fit everything I need in there. Samples, transit, measuring tools, catalogs, paint, stakes, and I can even jam ten 5-gal plants in the hatch if I have to. I'll take 26-28 mpg with unleaded over 16 mpg with my diesel any day.
 
#18 ·
I've shown up for an estimate on my mountain bike before. I don't think it really matters as long as you have a portfolio to show them your work and equipment.
Most clients don't care about equipment. Maybe it's different showing up by bicycle....

Clients don't know the difference between a john deere garden tractor, a $17,000 72" ZTR. A skidsteer is a skidsteer to them.
 
#21 ·
I can't even imagine if I rode a bike to someone's house. "MOM! There's a big fat guy dripping on the front porch!"
Then when she comes to the door be like hey im here to trim your bushes. all drenched in sweat and panting.
 
#22 ·
I'm not your big lazy fat ass kind of guy...I look good on a bike, lol.

It's only about a mile to their house and half of it is across my rear acreage....the rest is downhill. I got the job BTW. The guy was new to the area and had seen me and my truck at the post office and wrote down my number. But I've taken the bike, the VW van, a Taurus station wagon, the Honda station wagon and trucks. I've usually got at least 3 vehicles to choose from but it's usually my truck these days. It doesn't seem to matter. I tell them what I'm driving on the phone when I call to confirm my appointment so they know.
 
#24 ·
I'm not your big lazy fat ass kind of guy...I look good on a bike, lol.

It's only about a mile to their house and half of it is across my rear acreage....the rest is downhill. I got the job BTW. The guy was new to the area and had seen me and my truck at the post office and wrote down my number. But I've taken the bike, the VW van, a Taurus station wagon, the Honda station wagon and trucks. I've usually got at least 3 vehicles to choose from but it's usually my truck these days. It doesn't seem to matter. I tell them what I'm driving on the phone when I call to confirm my appointment so they know.
If you ride your bike, how do you bring all your estimate materials? catalogs, samples, measuring reel, etc....
 
#25 ·
No offense, Darryl. I love ya, man. But showing up on a bike? VW Van??? I'm not sure what kind of area you work in or what kind of jobs you're pulling down but that wouldn't fly in my area. You'd never land the nice landscaping jobs around the areas we work in if you showed up in something like that. You'd just land the jobs from the cheapskates and that's it.
 
#26 ·
I'm not your big lazy fat ass kind of guy...I look good on a bike, lol.
Easy there. Fat yes, lazy no. Just to clarify.

I don't think what you drive is that critical as long as it doesn't draw too much attention (flashy or trashy). Now, the tree guy who came out to my house and had to be driven there by his wife because of his DUI - that was a strike against.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top