Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/55163
Landscape Design and Construction By Richard Lahren Job Estimating and Winning Bids M any landscape contrac- tors today lose focus on what it takes to sell a landscape. It all starts with one question, what are you selling the customer? Are you sell- ing them a paver patio, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit? The list goes on. Prima- rily, you must sell yourself to the client. Once you've accomplished this, everything else is easy. Understand what the customer needs, listen to his or her wants, and then prop- erly prepare a design and estimate that is within the client's budget. Consumers are not always looking for the best price; they need peace of mind in there purchase, and a contractor who is credible, honest and experienced. Don't be scared to ask the client what his or her budget is; it will save you a lot of time and energy. You may have to value engineer the project if necessary. Think of yourself as a problem solver. Sometimes all they want is a reputable company they can count on when they need something. 10 Landscape and Irrigation February 2012 Think of five reasons a customer should choose you for their next project and write them down. Use them in your mar- keting materials, and stick to them. If you call the client back the day they called, you may be ahead of 80 percent of the compe- tition. I hear it every year from customers that a contractor never gets back to them. The faster you get the design and bid back to them, the better the chances are of clos- ing the sale. Persistence pays off Persistence and patience are needed when working with clients on projects, es- pecially if it is a large dollar amount. They may need time to mull it over and think about it; other distractions may become a factor. Their career may be a challenge when trying to set up an appointment, scheduling a walk through, or closing the sale. Professionals are often difficult to con- tact. Determine which type of contact works best for your client — whether it is via phone, e-mail or face to face. Getting both husband and wife together can also be difficult. I always make sure every per- son involved in the decision making is going to be at the appointment when clos- ing the sale. You may need to set a time and date for an appointment that is con- venient for them, not you. On larger construction projects, the general contractor or subcontractors may be more of a priority at the time than the landscape contractor. Don't get frustrated and give up, you have invested a lot of time in the design, as well as the estimate. Indus- try statistics say that it may take up to seven or more meetings with a client to close the deal. If you give up before the seventh contact, you may have just given the project to the next contractor. Com- munication is key — always keep in con- tact with the client from the project's design to its completion. Following up with a client years later may even develop into a new additional project. A client may call up to three landscape contractors to bid on the same project, and they usually receive two or three estimates that are all over the board. One or two may be within 15 percent of each other and one is 40 percent less or more. Why? The first answer is one contractor doesn't have the overhead expense the other com- pany does. Overhead is one factor in the spread of one bid against another, but it shouldn't be. If one contractor is working out of his house and the other has a shop, doesn't the one working out of his house want to have a shop someday? Another reason is the landscape industry has yet to have a standard estimating system such as those used in other service indus- tries. Take the insurance industry for exam- ple, you get into an accident with your vehicle, the insurance company wants you to get two or three estimates. Every esti- mate was within 10 percent of the other. We still need to see the estimating system that will revolutionize our industry and bring it up to par with insurance companies, electricians, mechanics, etc. www.landscapeirrigation.com All photos and charts courtesy of Richard Lahren