Commercial Bids

[Hova]

How would I know if my bid is the best deal from the other bids? How can I find out other bids to make my bids the best offer.

[Woody]

Man, let me get this straight.... You want to LOWBALL?? Undercut everyone elses bid? Do you know the consequences of doing that? You'll be tits up in no time. You can't make money lowballing everyones prices. Oh yeah, it SEEMS like it might work in the beginning. Then your equipment breaks down, and you are either waiting 6 weeks for parts (if you bought scrub-approved consumer grade junk) and have lost all of your customers, or you are taking out loans to get your high dollar, commercial grade stuff fixed. Either way, you are in a WORLD of hurt.

Besides, it is a FACT (ask people on this site) that MANY, MANY customers will say "well, everyone bid $120.00 to do the job, but I had one guy bid 80 bucks. I figured the 80 dollar guy DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING!".

Under bidding SLIGHTLY to get more work is acceptable. Lowballing is bad for the whole industry, and is the tactic of scrubs. Your best bet is to DISTINGUISH YOURSELF WITH QUALITY WORK!

I tell people right off the bat that I am NOT cheap. I, personally, don't want to be the lowest bidder.

Woody

[Lawngodfather]

That's not all true Woody...

I would like to see some of the bids I was not awarded.

Some could have been won by a small adjustment on the mowing price and a raise on something else to compensate for it.

It is all a numbers game. The big boys like Brickman charge $20 a man hour for mowing, but rape you on everything else.

But, they also pull some sly moves on you and charge you more for curb and sidewalk edging.

I know I lost bids I was actually the lowest for the entire year by a small margin, but my mowing price was almost double the big boys. I have copies of their bids

Hova; all you got to do is ask, either they will show you it or say no. You can also say you could match it, but you can get burned that way too.

[Hova]

It's not that I want to lowball someone else or myself. I just want to see if my prices are to large or to small. thanks fellas

Hova...

[Woody]

Ok, Hova. Didn't mean to chew your ass. I wasn't understanding what you were getting at.

Even if you can't get a look at what everyone else had bid on a particular job, a good way to determine if your pricing is where it should be is by how many jobs you get. From what Grassmaster has posted in the past, and most people agree with him, you should be getting 20% of the jobs you bid on. If you are getting more than 20%, then your pricing is too low. If you are getting much less than 20%, then your pricing is too high. Remember, this means that you are NOT getting 80% of the jobs you bid!

Lawngodfather: You break down your bids on paper like that? Is it required? I think I would rather just turn in a bid with a total price. I may break down the services that are included, but breaking the price down for each service may make you more vulnerable. For example, the customer likes your mowing price, but thinks you are just "ripping them off" on your edging price. A list of services provided, and just a total cost, would give them less to nitpick you about.

Just my 2 cents.

Woody

[Lawngodfather]

I give a price fore each service like; Mowing/trimming/edging/blowing is one price.

Trimming shrubs is another, etc... The big boys break downt heirs just a bit more.

BTW I would like to close 50%, 20% seems to low, but my ratio in the resi market I close 80%+ and my prices are not to low.

The motto would be if you have to much work, your prices are to low.

[GrassMaster]

Hello Everybody:

Some of these thoughts on closing sales can be argued until the cows come home...

But I always believed that if you were closing too many sales that you were to low!

Now I know for a Fact I'm not the Best Salesman in the World! That does count a good bit, I think to some extent!

One time early in the Ball Game, this very Rich & My Very First Year Round Contract Customer asked me how I was doing & I said Great! He said How?

I told him that I was getting most jobs I bidded on. He laughed & said if you are getting over about 2 out of 10 jobs you are too Cheap or you are the Best Salesman in the World. He said you ain't the Best Salesman in the World, I am!

He told me that if I was getting say 7 or 8 out of 10 jobs for me to raise my price by about 20% & see how it goes. He said to keep track of all jobs bidded on!

Well I raised most of my fees by roughly 20% to 25%. I dropped down to about 2 or 3 out of 10 bids. He worked with me a Little Bit on my Sales Pitch & then he said raise it another 10%, I did & I still was getting 2 or 3 out of 10.

He was very well off & he Sold Office Furniture & Supplies over the Phone, if Big enough Sale he would Fly or Drive there!

Remember there is .99 cent hamburgers & there's $6.99 hamburgers, it's all how it is Presented & Served to the Customer!

Plenty of Times I go in with High Bid & take the Job like taking Candy from a Baby! I know Salesmen that are way better than me, simply because they can BS their way to the Sale. I Will Not Do That! It has Hurt me Many Times!

I bidded on a Ryan's Steak House one time, the Manager was a Jerk & had about 7 of us there at the same time, when I walked up some of the others were upset....

I was awarded the Bid & I was 3 Times Higher than the Lowest Bid. Low Bid was $50 a Month, The Next Highest bid to mine was $100, I bid it at $150 & I would have offered to do it for Free if I didn't get the Bid.

It was at a Major Intersection At The Mall & the Road you went down to the Nicest Neighborhoods in my Town. LOL, We Held Company Meetings there & Maintained Every Friday no matter what! I was always giving out Business Cards! I got a lot of work off that One Job.

Always charge as much as the Market can Bare & then some. You are not charging enough if you are not ashamed of your Bids. Because when you are 60 & your Health Care is over a $1,000 a Month, You will then realize that you never came close to charging enough & You were way under paid for your Services!

[edger]

If i were to post some pictures of some large commercial lots i am going to bid on. Would all of you be willing to give me some input. I'll take the pics tomorrow morning when i get off.


The one place i know is going to be well over $800 for just the first cut and the other will be well over $1200 to $1500. I'll post pics tommorw and then maybe someone can help me out.

If anybody is near Fayetteville, NC then you'd be more then welcome to come check these places out and give me your input.

Thanks

Chris

[CCLS]

Win the contract with the mowing. Bid competitively or slightly lower on the hourly services. Send two guys out to the property to do the hourly services instead of one.

If it takes one guy an hour to prune bushes, it should take two guys a half hour each to prune bushes. All you do is bill the client for two man hours because you have an hour minimum on each per man hour service. Same deal with snow removal, you always round the hour up even if it is 10 minutes.

This way your #'s come out lower than the competition, but you make more $$$. Its a numbers game, you just have to know what your competition is doing.

[Hova]

I am interested in this one customer. I know with 2 guys it will take about 2-4 hours just for mowing and blowing. What would be a good average price for this customer. Residential no problem I can estimate those type of properties in two mins. but commercial not happing. i just don't want to be out there and start saying to myself I lowballed myself. You know.....

Hova

[Lawngodfather]

Whats the diff between a comm and a resi?

A commercial is not a residence. A comm is a business, no body lives there.

2-4 hours is a big span, 2 guys for 2 hours is 4 man hours, 2 guys for 4 hours is 8 man hours.

[MortNuke]

Great discussion.

One of my mentors suggests $60 man/hr mowing time (Stressing that you must be using the right equipment sized for the job) to get a ballpark estimate.

Does that jive with you folks? Of course, edging and blowing would be figured out separately. Those thumbrules were a bit more complicated

He also suggests getting back to the customer the next day with the quote, giving yourself time to mull over the details (distance travelled, degree of difficulty, etc.) until I get some experience at pricing.

What do you think?

Mort

[Hova]

MortNuke,

so you had customer let you do that. get back with them the next day, with the quote. i never tried that..HHHuUUUUMMM...

[mowtrimblow]

I've had several folks give me a few days to get back to them on a bid. They want you to get the price right so you'll do the work for a while and not bothrer them.
Dave

[GrassMaster]

Warning a Mile Longer!

Hello Everybody:

If you are giving residential lawn service bids, give them to the client while you are there on your first visit, if you want more work in less time?

Remember this! Money is Work Divided by Time!

Residential bids are not that hard to figure, unless you are bidding on a 20 Acre Estate!

If you give the bids on the spot, you will get more jobs! A Fact!

Do you think GrassMaster is going to Stop what he's doing, Answer the Phone, Listen to Catlady Boof about her Yard & her Yard Dud, then make an appointment (With his Very Busy Schedule as it is) with her, then Keep track of the appointment, Again Stop what he's Doing, go meet her, Praying that she is there, listen to her, Walk around the Yard like a Dog in Heat, take a few notes, plus many measurements & then walk up to her door, then Say I'll get back with Y'all tomorrow or the next day or when I Pheel Like it Mrs. Catlady, don't call me, I'll call you...

Ain't no Way this JawJa Redneck is going to Give anybody an Opportunity to Beat him to the draw on a Bid!

You are Crazy if you think I operate like that. For a lawn that I might only get $150 to $300 a Month Year Round? I don't care if it's a $500 a month lawn Year Round... I Will do it on the Spot!

Please Think about this >-------> Catlady called me, she's interested in my Services & all she wants me to do is Tell her a Little about Me & My Company & Give her a Price... Is that too Hard to do, It ain't for me! Ca Ching! $$$$$

I'm not going to perform Heart Surgery, I'm not going to do a $15,000 Landscape install, or a $30,000 Pool...

I'm the GrassMaster, I'm YOUR Competition, I'm going to give a her a Good Quick Sales Pitch & you can bet your Arse that I'm going to give that Lady a Fee for my Services, before I walk off that Property! Why?

I don't have the time to Nickel & Dime around with those Bids, My Job is to make the most amount of money in the least amount of time! Get the Picture! I'm not going to make it 2 Appointments & 2 visits for 1 job! That's not how I do business!

Everybody is in a hurry, people do not want to wait on anything. Remember that & as time goes on they will want you to Hurry More. Trust Me!

When you put people off, when they are wanting a price, it just lets more of your competition come to the table to bid against you! Then it boils down to Price Shopping, I do not give Cheap Yard Jobs!

If you are bidding against more than about 1 or 2 more Companies, That is the Lawn I don't want at all.

If I find that out while I'm there, I'll tack on another 10% to 20% GrassMasteraggervationfee! Or I'm not a RedNeck from JawJa!

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OFF TOPIC, More Like a Rantings of a MadMan, but a Good Scenario!

Do the guys at the Car Dealership say, Yeah Mr. 5-Ash, let me get back with you on that New Truck in a few days, Mr. 5-Ash are you sure you want a truck from us? Let us give you enough time to shop around, because you might want it from somewhere else, maybe even find it cheaper?

Yeah Right... You can bet money that If I'm there & I'm looking for a New Truck. Then I was to die of a Heart Attack while there, face down in the parking lot, you can bet the General Sales Manager will pull up on the Car Lot Bike, Park it Between (the Crack of my...) my Legs Snatch my Wallet out of my pocket...

Run a Credit Report on me with the info & if My Beacon Rating is high enough, Trust me it is My Wifes is around 8.2 & mine is around 8.5 beacon rating, He will get Willard (The Detail Guy) to Hold my Dead Cold hand & Sign the Papers...

>>>LOL, Don't forget it's the 28th of the Month (End of the Month), the Best time to get the Best Price on a New Vehicle!<<<

Then he will Call my wife & say Mrs. 5-Ash, your Husband was here Earlier Today & bought a New Truck & Drove off, then a hour or so later came back & was going to buy you a New Car (LOL, You'll love it Mrs. 5-Ash), but he dropped dead in the parking lot. Mrs. 5-Ash, do you want us to take the Truck to your House or will you pick it up. It's one Beautiful Truck & he got a Hell of a Deal on it!

Then he calls for an Ambulance...

If I wanted that Truck a few days from now, LOL I would have waited until then to go get it?

OK, I'm Sorry I had to throw that Borderline Off Topic Ramblings in there!

Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?
The Early Bird gets the Worm!
He who Hesitates is Lost!
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If the Price sounds good to the Potential Customer & you are the first to give a bid, you will probably get the Job at least 50% of the Time... Unless you are way off!

Exactly how many more Lawn Service companies do you think this Potential Client is going to call, making appointments with, wait on to meet with them at the house, walk around telling them what they want & then wait days for the Lawn Guy to get back with them? Not many will even call another Company, What 50% maybe, to me 50% odds is over a 100%! A Sure thing!

I'm not going to be around much at one time tonight, but if any of you would like to Debate with me how putting off customers is going to get you business, Please notice I didn't say "get you More Business" because it will not ever do that in your lifetime, it's been proven many times! I'll be glad to Help You $ee the Light!

Please always look for ways to save time, because it will help you make more Money!

Do not ever settle with or be happy with the way you are doing things! There's always room for improvement no matter what! Trust Me!

BTW: If I get that bid on the spot on my first visit, about 5 to 10 minutes later, I will have a Signed Lawn Service Agreement...

Because that's How I do Business!