Bids Won vs Lost | A discussion on bidding and quoting

climbingmonkey24

climbingmonkey24

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
United States
There’s a saying that if you’re winning every job you’re either bidding too low or not looking at enough work, thoughts?

Do you win every job or do you lose some?

Also, do you think following up on your quotes after a couple days or a week or so is a good idea? Generally I’ve always followed up after some time has passed. And even if they come back and say they hired someone else, I thank them for their time etc.

Y’all think following up is a good idea and should I worry or be upset if I lose a bid? Just interested in other business owner’s perspectives here.
 
I win most, and follow up 4-7 days after sending quote. If no response via email I will call or text depending on how they communicated.

I don’t advertise, no social media account, no signage on trucks, no website, word of mouth only and I want to win each quote. That probably will change but has worked well for my home life and schedule availability. For folks with employees and working 5 days/week etc etc it’d be a diff story.
 
Nobody gets 100%.

30% win on cold calls is a number I've heard.



Working by referrals and getting most could be a sign of one's service and trustworthiness. It can be that one is not advertising and bidding too low.


Some jobs, particularly easy removals go to whomever screwed up the bid the most ("too cheapest").



Customers are not friends. Don't take it personally about bids.
Some people simply don't get the work done.


I sometimes ask who else has bid on it, and what they thought it was worth, after I finish a job.



You can always ask what people like about your approach, and what they would prefer to be different.
 
We typically convert (win) about 40-45% of the leads that come in. That number is a bit higher than it should be, but largely that’s because we have a pretty good number of referrals, and they mostly convert.

As for leads that come in through advertisements, we aim to win about 33%. If we are winning much more than that, we are doing something wrong, most likely our prices are too cheap.

As @southsoundtree said, with removals, the poor guy who gave the lowest price usually gets stuck with the job. We are often that guy, as we are a removal company. We’re a bit of a specialty service, taking on the projects others don’t want, but removals are still a race to the bottom, and we won’t compete on price, so we lose a lot of bids to lower priced “competitors.”

Regarding follow ups, we will make five attempts in total, a combination of calls, text messages, and emails sent out across the 30 days after we provide the quote. Even with all that, we never hear anything at all back from about 1/3 of the bids we send out.
 
Really depends on where the call came from.

(these numbers are all guesstimates - I don't track the numbers that close):

*Referral from a friend or client - over 85%
*Somebody who stopped when they saw us working and want a quote when we are done - closer to 100%
*Found our name on ISA's list of CA's - probably also over 85%. It helps there aren't many in the area and one of the other companies is so swamped, they stop taking new clients this time of year...
*Random internet search finding us - probably 75%
*When I was using Home Advisor and Angies list...less than 40% (but I did get some really good clients that way, just not many!)

We don't do cold calls. Don't have any advertising beyond name/logos on trucks and being online (have FB page, that my wife lets me know a couple of times per year when someone reaches out through that - never update it).

BUT it takes time to get here! That didn't all happen over night. We've built up a client base who bring repeat business and are glad to refer us to their friends and neighbors. Advertising and lead services (Angie's List/Home Advisor) can do that. They kinda suck...but within that suckiness, there are a few gems. They tell me they've cleaned it up so there won't be as many people calling not really wanting work at all. I don't know what that looks like, but would be a big improvement if so.
 
We don't do removals at all (unless it is a small removal for an existing client where we are doing other work), so that probably helps our closing rate a lot. When I get those calls, I just refer them to others. Saves a lot of time, not lookng at them. I used to at least go look to see if it was something we wanted to handle. That did help build clients too. Like @Reach said, there are always those willing to do it cheaper. I think there are people naive enough to think it is simpler than it is...both customer and contractors so that market gets fed with a continual flow of new suckers. That was me on some early jobs - so I'm not trying to insult anybody with that...it just is.

Most people calling us are calling for tree care. There just aren't a lot (not saying there aren't any...) of other companies who do a good job of that in the immediate area.
 
ATH said:
We don't do removals at all (unless it is a small removal for an existing client where we are doing other work), so that probably helps our closing rate a lot. When I get those calls, I just refer them to others. Saves a lot of time, not lookng at them. I used to at least go look to see if it was something we wanted to handle. That did help build clients too. Like @Reach said, there are always those willing to do it cheaper. I think there are people naive enough to think it is simpler than it is...both customer and contractors so that market gets fed with a continual flow of new suckers. That was me on some early jobs - so I'm not trying to insult anybody with that...it just is.

Most people calling us are calling for tree care. There just aren't a lot (not saying there aren't any...) of other companies who do a good job of that in the immediate area.
Click to expand...
We just hired a guy to put together a plant health care team for us, in hopes of getting away from being just another removal company. We have been doing top notch pruning for years, and want to again offer the services we had stopped, so we can keep our customers work all in-house, and increase our profitability.
 
Aerial Traveler said:
Is how the bid was submitted a factor in getting jobs? In person, email, phone, messenger, carrier pigeon...

Are bids more successful when coupled with free customer education/consultation?
Click to expand...
I don't see a difference in how the bid is submitted. If it is just one or two things I'll give a verbal estimate. If there are several I'll ask if I can email it so they can see line by line. Many repeat customers just tell us what they want done and don't ask for a bid. They'll be back as long as we are honest/reasonable with pricing.

Consultation....yes. We do paid consultations that sometimes result in bidding more work. However, even when just bidding, helping clients understand they "why" builds confidence. I also find it a delicate balance between pointing out other things we notice but not wanting to sound like the mechanic that finds an additional $2500 of work on your car when you just want an oil change. I never set out to "upsell". But if, for example, they are asking about pruning their maple and I see bagworms on the arborvitae I kinda think they want to know. I'll tell them how they can treat those...but most often they ask if we can do that too.
 
PS: I'd suggest bids are more successful with paid consultations. 2 reasons:
1) if a client is willing to pay for you to be there, they already have a base level of respect for your knowledge
2) they are already invested. It doesn't cost them anything to have 8 people come look at their trees. However, if there is a consultation fee, they aren't going to do that. Be reasonable and the job is probably yours.

Having said that, we do try to distinguish between a bid (free) and a consultation (paid). If it is questionable, I'll verbalize that fine line and give them a "free" bid.
 
I love new clients, not saying I dislike repeat clients, of course not.
Its just that there’s a special satisfaction in turning up at a new property, meeting someone new, gaining their confidence and executing well paid work to their satisfaction.

If you’re a salesman (which I am to an extent) an order from a new client is far sweeter than an old established client ordering the same old shit.
 
We aim for 50% closing rate on bids, my mentor said 30% was the goal. I didn’t listen and am happy with 50%.
I don’t waste my enery worrying about the jobs I didn’t get, unless it’s a special tree or person that I was really excited to work with.
 
Bump bump
Had a consult setup yesterday and they cancelled just a few hours before the scheduled visit. “My father is taking care of it”.
This was a neighbor, basically, and later in the day I hear a saw running. So naturally I take a peak and see another company with their bucket truck on the wet lawn doing the work. Stings a little. Gotta get some thicker skin on this. But it hurts a bit when you’re not even given a chance to bid the work. I’m sure I could have given them a better price with less impact. Rant over
Reading these archives helps. Thanks for the posts
 
Ooo I hate it when that happens. But yeah, thinking about it, getting upset about it is useless. If you're busy, then all good. And if not busy, upgrade your marketing/sales effort and skill
 
Neill said:
Bump bump
Had a consult setup yesterday and they cancelled just a few hours before the scheduled visit. “My father is taking care of it”.
This was a neighbor, basically, and later in the day I hear a saw running. So naturally I take a peak and see another company with their bucket truck on the wet lawn doing the work. Stings a little. Gotta get some thicker skin on this. But it hurts a bit when you’re not even given a chance to bid the work. I’m sure I could have given them a better price with less impact. Rant over
Reading these archives helps. Thanks for the posts
Click to expand...
One good thing to consider at least you know you’re not underestimating.
You don’t want to win every estimate.

Hopefully they don’t have a horrible experience with other company but they probably will realize they should have went with you.
 
southsoundtree said:
Hope you avoided a problem customer.

A bargain shopper is one thing, a liar is another.


Someone far away would expect you wouldn't catch them in a lie. Someone close-by, having a bucket-truck on the lawn...stupid and/ or plain dishonest.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing...but I wonder if "my father is taking care of it" means:
"he's making arrangements and his guy is going to do it"
instead of
"Dad's going to climb up there with a ladder in his front end loader and do it"
 
Neill said:
Bump bump
Had a consult setup yesterday and they cancelled just a few hours before the scheduled visit. “My father is taking care of it”.
This was a neighbor, basically, and later in the day I hear a saw running. So naturally I take a peak and see another company with their bucket truck on the wet lawn doing the work. Stings a little. Gotta get some thicker skin on this. But it hurts a bit when you’re not even given a chance to bid the work. I’m sure I could have given them a better price with less impact. Rant over
Reading these archives helps. Thanks for the posts
Click to expand...
I feel you on the sting, but their loss man. From what I’ve seen, you’re top notch in work and attitude. That will last you longer. And you won’t have to have a landscaper hat for ruining lawns.
 
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