Do you give a discount if you take the wood?

I got aways ask the wood question, right away...before I give any kind of price. After talking to the potential customer, I ask them to give me a couple minutes to look everything over. After that I type it up in my phone and print to a mobile printer.

So it wwas in this initial conversation, she said the other companies offered a discount on the tree removal, if they take the wood. I didn't ask how much of a discount, or total of job. Nor do I know what other companies bid on trees trees. The removal was a fairly basic Pin oak of mature size...all grass around it except for one small shed.
 
Nope. Never. For the same reasons you all said. We normally split the quote into "safe removal to ground, cut into manageable pieces" and another line for" hauling brush and wood away from property".
Some customers want the whole deal, some like it left. We have a lot of bushy properties here where it doesn't make sense to take the wood.
We'd rather not take it. But the loader is fun to drive around, so sometimes we do.
 
Yes it is cheaper 90% of the time if we take the wood, for us it's less time on the job less mess to clean up vs sawing it into manageable pieces, less hours on saws less down Time sharpening saw less noise etc, as long as we have access with one of our loaders we take the wood all the 90% of the time, I really dislike leaving the wood If we have to cut it into manageable pieces, I like logs and wood, I am neighborly with it and use it to barter for all kinds of work from people in different professions, concrete guys electricians, machinist, a guy whom I buy a lot of my loader parts from, a general contractor, there's been times we will pick wood up at the dump while unloading the brush just to have a full old to drop off to a friend or to take back to stock pile, of corse everyone is different and runs their show different but to each his own and we all make it work!
 
I'd rather load out 4' diameter wood with a skid steer than have to cut stuff to firewood length, move and stack it all, then screw around cleaning up sawdust and bark.
 
One of the big reasons why I don't like leaving wood is that the people tend to want it stacked out in the middle of nowhere. We did a job a few months back where the wood stayed, the guy was gonna split it up for firewood. This was done through a landscaper I work with. Get to the job, homeowner confirms we are leaving the wood (28" DBH red oak) yes, we will cut it up for firewood. He then asks if I can move the logs about 150' to the other side of the driveway, told him no problem but it would be several hundred more. He was none too happy about that, but I think he was even more upset after he tried to do the work himself. I drove by about a month ago, and I think he only moved about 2 or 3 chunks. In the end people would rather buy the wood than split it themselves anyway, and then it just goes to waste.
 
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I got aways ask the wood question, right away...before I give any kind of price. After talking to the potential customer, I ask them to give me a couple minutes to look everything over. After that I type it up in my phone and print to a mobile printer.

So it wwas in this initial conversation, she said the other companies offered a discount on the tree removal, if they take the wood. I didn't ask how much of a discount, or total of job. Nor do I know what other companies bid on trees trees. The removal was a fairly basic Pin oak of mature size...all grass around it except for one small shed.

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Its a simple objection to price. One that can't be responded to effectively if you don't know the price you're competing against. Once you have all the details then you can make an a decision as to what to do. This is just a negotiation strategy. Company A gives a price of $2500 wood left on site not cut at all. Offers a 10% discount if they take the wood with the end price then being $2250. Company B offers to do the job for $2000 and will knock off $300 if they can take the wood. So, the impression is wood isn't taken and she'll have to then deal with it but, she can get a better price if it's taken! Wow! Along you come, and she tells you that she's getting this discount. So, maybe you were coming in at a better price as it was and, taking the wood but, you didn't say she's getting a discount. Before you start competing on sales tactics know all the details.
 
A lady drove by my house the other day and saw all my firewood stacked up for next year. She stopped and asked if I sold it. I told her that I burn 5 cords a year as it is my sole source of heat and this is all for me. Told her I would keep her in mind next time I cut some hardwood. She said she had an oak she wanted me to look at cutting. We ended up removing this 40" red oak from beside her house, bucked it, split it, then stacked it. Nice profit too. 3 cords of wood for her. Tomorrow, I go look at a tree on a rental property she and her husband own. I say, go the extra mile, and the customer keeps coming back. Of course we all run our operations differently.
 
Treehumper,

So every time you go to estimate, you ask what other companies your bidding against? What exactly they bid?

And then you adjust your price accordingly?

Seems a bit shady to me. Like the company or 2 in my area, that advertise they will beat anyone's price...guaranteed. My price is based on how long I think it will take, period. It is not negotiable...sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. But mostly the time frame is pretty close. Sometime, the offer a competitors price, and I luv that information, but I don't let it effect my price. I had bidding jobs for car salesman, and lawyers...they always try to negotiate. If they want it cheaper, I give them other options, like leave wood, no stump, no stump clean up, no clean up at all (just get tree on ground). I clearly state my totals, and what is being done, exactly. Some other companies in this area don't. And unfortunately, sometimes the customer assumes that they are doing the same (that every company does things the same way).

I had a company under bid me by a grand, on a large removal...and after they were done it was pretty obvious why they were cheaper. Stump and roots weren't properly ground out, stump grinding left, lawn was damaged and rutted, huge risks taken in getting the tree down, etc. When they customer contacted them to clean things up, this company said they were done, pay up...that was all their estimate covered. I doubt that customer will use them again. But they are always people that think cheaper is better. If I hear I am bidding against them, I'll tell them right up front I will be more $$ (and why that is). Cheaper isnt always better.

These guys (original thread topic), aren't using the discount wood as a sale pitch...charging more to take down the tree, then discounting if they can have the wood. They want the wood period. I ran into this a few times before, they are probably hacks with ladder and a pickup. The are the ones that respond to craiglist ads to remove tree for the wood.
 
That's a big marketing challenge. I bid like you, it seems to be the only way to do it unless your running some kind of bluff. When you do quality work the product is often identical to the hack with removal work. Both have created a stump in the yard. Too bad there's no style points. I suppose that would be referrals which are the best marketing.
 
Climbhigh, I bid the same way you do. time and job quality. I don't undercut others as that just leads to a price war. We try to land as many jobs as possible to generate revenues, profit and long term clients who refer us. We have walked away from work that isn't going to achieve those goals. Want your tree topped and hat-racked, then go somewhere else. What I am talking about is this kind of situation where I'm asked to give something that competitors have offered.

This is a discount that is out of the norm for most markets. Yes, there are companies that come around from time to time with this ploy. But, this is a situation that I want to look at the details of what I'm being compared with so I can clarify for the customer what the difference is between the proposals. In that way they can make a better informed decision.

In the case above, my price may have already been cheaper or it may not have. But if I don't have the details how am I to explain the difference? If, they are competitors I'm not familiar with this is a means of obtaining information about them and their operations. Sales 101, know your competition and their products. Identify your strengths vs. their weaknesses. Negotiate services not price, the lawyer and car salesman understand that. Plenty of business owners do that as well. As one said to me, that is how it is. They will always ask for a better price. My answer has ranged from no, to, "a better price would be 20% higher. That's much better!" Said with a smile and they get it.

Price is just one component we compete with in a proposal. What will close the deal depends on what the client values most. If I've asked the right questions up front and listened to the client carefully then I can best offer them in light of the competition what is most closely aligned with their values . I don't jump to a conclusion about a client based on one aspect, like their craigslist ad, or the work they do, or how they're dressed. I ask the questions that qualify them as a prospective client of my business.

I've had clients that other salespeople have ignored based on initial impressions and their biases, only to find out they were golden. Clients who returned time and time again. With each sale they trust me more as they know I have their best interests at heart. Oh and they also know that I'm in business to make money.
 
FWIW: I typically bid (on removals) a separate cost to haul the “waste”; whether it’s chips, logs or both. If the client tells me ahead of time they’ll want the wood I give them the cost to block, stack or whatever is happening with the wood. I try not to discount ever, I really think it’s a bad practice to get into because the next time you deal with that person (or their cousin) it’s discount talk time.

I am curious, you guys say you are bidding basically time and materials. What about difficulty, or exposure? For example; if you are doing a job on a busy street, your exposure to potential accidents is greater, and that situation is more difficult. More targets, more hazards. I know our insurance rates reflect this. My GL rate for snow plowing is more than for lawn fert’s because driving in the snow is just that much more exposure to accidents.
 
Difficulty will usually play into the time factor. When I price a job, I look at what it will take to deal with those issue, such as the set up of a work zone on a busy street, traffic control costs, mitigation of hazards, set up of advanced rigging or access, additional manpower or specialized equipment. It pretty much boils down to a time element and "materials" (read, crane, etc...).
 
One thing to remember, and I think it's a point treehumper was making earlier, don't negotiate a competitor's terms/price without seeing their estimate. Otherwise it's hearsay. The proof's in the pudding.
 
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