Contract climbing letter, survey

rockettree

rockettree

Participating member
Location
Boulder, CO!
I'd like to start working as an independent contractor this summer. I'm sending this letter around to a bunch of companies in my area. What do you guys think? Especially business owners, how would you receive this?

I've got some good contacts right in my town, enough to stay busy in the high season I think, I'm just trying to get a picture of the available work before jumping in with both feet.

If anybody would care to share any other strategies they've used for growing this type of business I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks


The letter:

To whom it may concern,

Hello, my name is Raymond Rockett and I’m writing to ask you a favor. I’m interested in working as a contract tree climber starting this summer. I’m starting to research the market and I’ve put together a short survey to help me determine the likelihood of success and what steps I need to take in order to offer a high quality of service. If you take the time to respond I’ll be very grateful.

I have five years experience as an employee in tree care on the front range. For three and a half of those years I have supervised crews performing a full range of tree maintenance services. My experience as an employee has been great. I’ve been lucky to work with some great people and I’ve been given some great opportunities. I’m hoping to gain more control over my schedule as a sub contractor so that I can spend more time with my family and pursue other interests.

I love working in tree care and I’m always seeking new opportunities and experiences. I am an ISA certified arborist, a TCIA certified tree safety professional, and I have a CDL class B driver’s license. I’ve also finished in the top five three years in a row at the chapter climbing competition. I have a proven ability to plan work, manage time constraints and offer the highest quality product possible. Our trees and clients deserve the best, I’m committed to continually improving the quality of my work and always searching for new ways to increase my productivity.

I intend to be a full service contractor supplying my own transportation, PPE (including chainsaw protection), equipment (climbing gear, rigging gear, chainsaws, etc.), and insurance (health and liability). With all this in mind I would appreciate it if you could respond to the following questions. I would also love to talk or meet with you to discuss further the possibility of working together. I can be reached at (720)421-6360 or rocketttree@gmail.com.



Thank you for your time,

Raymond Rockett


  1. Do you work with contract climbers? If not, why?
  1. Would you consider hiring somebody with my qualifications? If not, how could I make myself a more attractive candidate?
  1. How frequently do you hire contract climbers? Would you prefer to do so more or less?
  1. What type(s) of work do you typically sub out?
 
I'm not an employer, but rather than asking if people have the need or interest, possibly try and word the letter in such as way as to convey to the contractor why they need someone with your experience and or qualifications, or more specifically, you. What can you offer that they can't provide the clients in house?
Maybe you are one of the most in demand climbers in the country, with tens of thousands of crane picks and battles with the dreaded cottonwood, with special crane ball riding techniques and franco-italian specialized pruning.
Just kidding about that last part, but I think you see what I mean--more confident and sure of yourself as a badass sub. Why do they need you?

Also, I suspect that you are related to Levi, which is resume - able without a doubt!
 
Good feedback, thanks. When I get geared up and insured I definitely plan on changing the tone. I'm casting the net far and wide looking for general interest right now.

I know he's well liked on the buzz but around here his name is something you definitely want to keep off your resume!

Just kiddin bro;)
 
  1. Would you consider using somebody with my qualifications? If not, how could I make my services more attractive?
  1. How frequently do you use contract climbers? Would you prefer to do so more or less?
I would make these changes to make your letter look less like a request for employment and more like an option for difficult trees.
 
Why not just a personalized introduction letter with a couple small questions about potential collaboration?

I would worry that some might read the survey as indirect and a touch too clever (or just not worth one's time, if it really is just a survey). But I would like to learn of the response it generates.
 
Last edited:
BuckmasterTreeService said:
  1. Would you consider using somebody with my qualifications? If not, how could I make my services more attractive?
  1. How frequently do you use contract climbers? Would you prefer to do so more or less?
I would make these changes to make your letter look less like a request for employment and more like an option for difficult trees.
Click to expand...

Excellent point there, thanks
 
Nish said:
Why not just a personalized introduction letter with a couple small questions about potential collaboration?

I would worry that some might read the survey as indirect and a touch too clever (or just not worth one's time, if it really is just a survey). But I would like to learn of the response it generates.
Click to expand...

I'll let you know how it works out, thanks for the feedback.
 
Raymond, to qualify myself, I have crafted 1000's of cover letters for people seeking work, either as employees or contractors. 7 yrs running The Job Finding Club. 85% success rate.

So, your letter is too long in getting to the point. What's the point of the letter? Is it to request a survey response or to market your service? I get the impression it's about both and more so the marketing.

The first 2 paragraphs are nice but all about what you've got out of it not what you accomplished. They also reveal more about you than is really good. Family guy? Well, forget about weekends, etc... this sounds like you'll be difficult to schedule with. People will read all that from their own perspective and experiences. More often than not, they hire looking to avoid the negatives of the last person. Don't give them the opportunity to eliminate you.

The third paragraph is the meat, Here's where they get a sense of what you can bring to the table. It would even help here if you can give a sense of what the results were of your efforts, i.e., how much the business grew or increased productivity, etc....

What do you see the responses giving you in the way of data? Are they meant to qualify them as potential clients?

If this was January, I'd say go with it. But the beginning of the season is fast approaching and most companies are getting ready for the season and may not find the time to respond. They are looking for employees/contractors and will see that you're not ready to start as a contractor but aren't looking for employment.

Strip it down. You know what they want and why they'll hire a contractor. Tell them how you'll benefit their business without taxing their bottomline.

My. $0.02 worth....
 
Hey Rockett- I'm not trying to be a jerk but, if you think running your own show is going to create more time, man think again.

From a biz perspective; good luck. I think the sub-climber route is a good thing for the industry. All joking aside, good climbers are tough to find and deal with (go ahead guys, start throwing stones). For guys like me, a good reliable guy (besides myself) to do some difficult stuff would be a great benefit to biz. Especially if they weren't on my payroll, insurance, ect. If you sent me that letter the first thing I'd do is ask for references, second would be insurance cert., third would be pricing.
 
Give me a holler if you want some contacts. I know most of the people you would want to work for on the front range. Your bro should have my number. This is court Sherwood by the way. Good luck, hope it works for ya.
 
Reed2179 said:
if you think running your own show is going to create more time, man think again.
Click to expand...

Reed, what exactly are you saying here? I don't understand. In my experience so far working as a sub has given me way more free time and total control over my schedule. I'm sure it has it's ups and down downs like anything but so far I would have to say it is quite a bit better than being an employee for someone like myself.
 
treehumper said:
Raymond, to qualify myself, I have crafted 1000's of cover letters for people seeking work, either as employees or contractors. 7 yrs running The Job Finding Club. 85% success rate.

So, your letter is too long in getting to the point. What's the point of the letter? Is it to request a survey response or to market your service? I get the impression it's about both and more so the marketing.

The first 2 paragraphs are nice but all about what you've got out of it not what you accomplished. They also reveal more about you than is really good. Family guy? Well, forget about weekends, etc... this sounds like you'll be difficult to schedule with. People will read all that from their own perspective and experiences. More often than not, they hire looking to avoid the negatives of the last person. Don't give them the opportunity to eliminate you.

The third paragraph is the meat, Here's where they get a sense of what you can bring to the table. It would even help here if you can give a sense of what the results were of your efforts, i.e., how much the business grew or increased productivity, etc....

What do you see the responses giving you in the way of data? Are they meant to qualify them as potential clients?

If this was January, I'd say go with it. But the beginning of the season is fast approaching and most companies are getting ready for the season and may not find the time to respond. They are looking for employees/contractors and will see that you're not ready to start as a contractor but aren't looking for employment.

Strip it down. You know what they want and why they'll hire a contractor. Tell them how you'll benefit their business without taxing their bottomline.

My. $0.02 worth....
Click to expand...

You've given me a lot to think about, thank you for your suggestions. I really just hoped people would take a few minutes to tell me about the role, if any, contractors played in their business so I could size up the market a little bit. I agree I put a bit more personal info than I needed to. I actually sent it out on Sunday evening, with a few minor changes. I contacted 60 companies within an hour drive of my house. I've gotten a response from 16 companies, so far. So now I know that there are more than a dozen companies in my area that use sub contractors on a regular basis whereas before I had no idea.
 
Reed2179 said:
Hey Rockett- I'm not trying to be a jerk but, if you think running your own show is going to create more time, man think again.

From a biz perspective; good luck. I think the sub-climber route is a good thing for the industry. All joking aside, good climbers are tough to find and deal with (go ahead guys, start throwing stones). For guys like me, a good reliable guy (besides myself) to do some difficult stuff would be a great benefit to biz. Especially if they weren't on my payroll, insurance, ect. If you sent me that letter the first thing I'd do is ask for references, second would be insurance cert., third would be pricing.
Click to expand...

I know I'll be able to enjoy more free time as a pure sub. I'm not really interested in taking it any further, meaning owning a tree care business, at the moment. The key is avoiding enjoying too much free time!

I see you're a rocky mountain chapter arb, where do you operate?
 
I know you didn't mean it this way, but the letter comes across like you are asking for their permission in a kind of statistical way. Just do it and don't look back. They will hire you.

Dear Sir or Madam;

I am a licensed, bonded, and insured contract climber offering my services in the greater such and such area, I have such and such skills, I am awesome in such and such way. My rate is such and such. If you need a hand, I'm your man. etc etc.
 
Last edited:
He was and at the same time introducing himself. Kind of a mixed message. While it could've been crafted better he has a good response rate and some clarity on what the market is. Now, he can focus in on a pitch letter as you're suggesting Ward.
 
I would say there is no reason to tell them why you are doing it unless it is something that will benefit them. Telling them you are looking to schedule according to your wants may not be appealing. Even if that isn't how you meant it
 
rockettree said:
I see you're a rocky mountain chapter arb, where do you operate?
Click to expand...

West of Denver, Evergreen, Conifer, Genesee mainly. We do get down to Golden, Morrison and Lakewood for clients who have property down there. I try to stay up in the foothills, in my strikezone ya know. We've carved a pretty good niche for ourselves in this little microclimate.

Ward really nailed it. My conflict with sub-climbers has always been thier biz sense. They don't have thier insurance lined up, they need to use one of my blocks/saws/ropes, scheduling problems, ect. It seems like they just don't take is seriously. By the time we get on the same page I usually just do the work myself. You can be the best sub in the area, if you don't gain the contractors trust they just won't call you again. I would bet that holds true with any plumber, mason, or tile guy too. The whole point of using a sub is they help your situation. I'd regularly use a good sub-climber 15-20 times a year if we have a working relationship. I'd guess if you had 10-12 guys like me, then filled in with some others here and there, you'd have a stable thing going. Good luck, as I said before I think this could really help our industry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom