customers!!!

[Hodge]

the problem i think is alot of people have been made redudant and think, oh will do some gardneing and tree work, then go and undercut the likes of us - happened no end to us, fed up with it.

 

yeah but you you dont see too many rouge gas fitters or sparkies, dentists or doctors. why?, because there industrys are regulated. some old lass with a conny in her garden is highly unlikely to look up an aa registerd tree surgeon, she just wants it done cheap. she dosnt care what tickets, insurance etc you have. there is another post on here where a guy is taking a tree down with scafolding, if that was a dodgy plumber you could get something done but our industry is poorly regulated.

[Johny Walker]

got a call from oakworth kiethgley, i said it was out off my area ,she said o it doesnt matter then wev got 2,other qoutes anyway ,so that would have been a wasted trip 5,m radius for me unless its contract work

Edited April 5, 2010 by Johny Walker

[TREE-SURGEON-ESSEX]

Yeah we been suffering mainly unqualified tree surgeons but have you noticed the shockingly crap work being done in the south some of the tree reductions i have seen are a joke thats what your cheap ass tree chopper can do.

[nailer]

I don't want to annoy anyone, and I hesitate to post this, but I'm honestly not getting any of this from customers. This year we're getting jobs at prices higher than ever before and we're frequently dearer than other quotes. Very nearly everyone pays up without chasing. Two years ago with a recession on the horizon I thought I'd better up my game and start learning how to market the business properly. I've read about 30 books, some of them more than twice. I've spent about 2K on home-study courses and conferences. I've tested it out and some is a waste of time but some of it really works. My point is forget the recession and get good at marketing and sales. Apart from a website we do no advertising at all. The tree work is where the fun is during the day, but the money is in finding good customers in an endless stream. And it can be done. It might seem impossible but with a bit of thought and effort your work life could be a whole lot more rewarding. I'm a very slow learner so most of you on here would easily pick it up. If you don't know where to start try reading Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith. I hope it helps you.

[nottstrees]

so you better tell us your secrets then because i agree with other posts and not yours theres a recession on and the first things to go are things you dont have to do like tree work if theres some thing more important to do like the boilers gone and you have no heating you know were the moneys going to go and if theres a conifer in the garden thats getting a little high that will always be one on last on the list we talking on the domestic side here

i think our buisness is a good indication of what state the economy is in

[Jon Lad]

I don't want to annoy anyone, and I hesitate to post this, but I'm honestly not getting any of this from customers. This year we're getting jobs at prices higher than ever before and we're frequently dearer than other quotes.

 

That's good for you. Not the same here. I had a woman accept a quote, the job was booked in for at least a month, she rang me a couple of days before we were due to go and told me she'd got a cheaper price and was cancelling. She told me she "Didn't mess about" when it came to this sort of thing, unfortunately she wasn't so concerned about messing me about: accepting a quote and fixing a date then continuing to get other prices? To my way of thinking, once you've accepted a quote, then the process of getting prices for the work has finished.

I'm having to shave my prices more and more to win jobs. Whatever it is your doing - keep doing it! It sounds like its working a treat.

[log supplier]

the problem i think is alot of people have been made redudant and think, oh will do some gardneing and tree work, then go and undercut the likes of us - happened no end to us, fed up with it.

 

 

just wait untill the sun comes out,, youll see all the little trailers filled with mowers on the roads...

i got sick of garden bashing, customers humming and harring about the price..and pulling half rusted cycles out of people jungles..

i know it can sometimes be a good little tickle, bashing a garden and listening to the crap of some customers.

just sticking to contract work from now on, less hastle and you know what to expect with out the fuss:001_smile:

[Stephen Blair]

Nailer i am with you, and i am delighted you have done what you have. i am a true believer in this, i have changed my life around and business by taking others business advice and reading up on psychology and marketing tactics. I love studying human nature, it used to drive me mental the way some people would treat me and then be amazed at how nice others did, i couldnt work out why, then i got an expert to explain my own natural drivers and why i acted in certain ways, with in 6 months of my first meeting i went from nearly 30k in overdraft to over 20k in the bank, at no time did he tell me any answers, but he gave me the ability to work them out myself. i would take days off and sort out my stuff, meetings with the bank manager, sort out my systems, if any, and go through all my direct debits, bills etc. my first day doing this saved me over 9k, with 1 phone call, and i had this guys numbe rfor over a year and never found time to call him. How many of us who run businesses have never even been on a course, and if you have, who took the course, a run of the mill emplyment teacher. i saw a guy who spent over 5k on a day course with a business guru, and then he told me some of what he had been told. Wake up guys, if you have your hand in the door and you keep slamming it, its going to hurt, so what do you do? if your answer is get used to the pain and just leave it there, well then there isnt much point listening to me, OR take your hand out the door and do things diferent. In the last 18 months i have saved over 90k on my mortgage by talking to the right guys and not just taking the easy deal, i was on my way to do an £80 hedge when i got the call to go and speak to someone, before i would of cut the hedge, this time i called and posponed the hedge and cut it the next day. sit back from your problems guys and take a closer look, now if the rest of the world is the problem then you are screwed, BUT if you have the guts to accept it is YOU that is the problem then thats simple, because the best person to fix and change you is yourself.

[Graham]

Had a guy call wanting a quote for hedgelaying about 20 miles away. Sounded a decent job...which it was and he accepted price.

 

Then phones me to tell me he's got someone else. No problem...leave him to it.

 

Phones me again saying he's got some more work and he thought 'he'd give me another chance'. Stuff you mate!

[Stephen Blair]

if you ran a shop and if every customer that came in asking ' how much?' then not buying anything. would you ban them from your shop? if you did then you wouldnt be very busy, instead explain to him that after the last meeting he changed his mind after accepting your qote with no compensation, you will need some fuel money to cover your costs for quoting, then cut to the chase and ask him how much he will spend on the job, if its the cheapest deal he wants, then thats fine, if he wants you to do it for less than usual, something has to give, he knows what the other guy works for, so why is he calling you, ask him why. then negotiate a deal. if he wants you to give on quality, safety or profesionalism then its a no no. if you give a little by saying prompt payment is the key to a small businesses cash flow, then ask him to pay you up front, if not all then a percentage