Elderly Want Lowest Price

Jamin_Mayer

Jamin_Mayer

Location
Longmont, CO
True or False? Elderly want lowest price, period.

I have observed that no matter how many credentials you have, not matter if you have proper insurances, no matter if you are licensed, no matter if you have been a repeat customer for nearly a decade, etc... They will still shop for the lowest bid.

I am never hopful when I bid for elderly people. They are "wildcards." I think they are impulsive with decision making, thus making it much more difficult to bid for.

I'm sort of venting... Can you tell?

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True for elderly customers that I have no connection with. The one city wide mass mailer I run gives a lot of these types. On the flip side my Grandparents are very active in their church and community. They have gotten me countless leads with old folks, and most of them say go ahead as soon as you can. They rarely question my price...

"wildcard" is a good description. I worked for this 80 year old couple 2 years in a row. Cleaned up about 5 crabs real nice. Came back the next year put down 10 yards of mulch and worked on a couple small maples. When I came back the second year all I heard was how the crabs have never looked so good... ooooo the pretty flowers. Third year they want a spruce taken down right next to the garage, not big but an hours work for 2 guys + stump and travel. I gave her a good price of $350, she says she will call. Never hear back... A few weeks later I ended up at the neighbors house cleaning up 3 jap maples and a magnolia. I look over and the spruce is gone. While I'm working the old lady comes over and says her lawn guys gave her a better price. So I was working on the neighbors property because of her referral but I wasn't good enough to cut down her spruce...

Best part is the stump was never ground and they had me back this past year to hack up a silver maple on the side of the house. So I guess I'm back in for now haha
 
I've generally had good luck with elderly clients. If they are repeat customers then they already know the prices and are good with it. New ones I'll try to give a "senior's discount" without going into the red.

Sometimes with small jobs like the one described I'll give them a reduced price but with the caveat that I'll do it when I'm in the neighbourhood so the travel time is covered in another job.

In the case above it sounds like it was a straightforward job and the landscaper had as much goodwill with them as you. Hence when it was a "real" tree job they had you back without hesitation.
 
Not sure how elderly you mean but I haven't had that experience. It's always the stupidly rich and the young hyper-professionals that shop lots of bids with me.

I advertise a discount for seniors and vets anyway.
 
Elderly? I qualify for AARP, am I included? :)

I know what you mean though. Penny pinchers come in all stripes, not just elderly. But, when people are on a fixed income they look at stretching dollars in a different way.

On the other hand, the elderly/retired as a group do control a lot of income. Not as much as the 'stupidly rich or young hyper-professionals' but not all are destitute or in poverty.

Try to sell value to penny pinchers. Tell them how you're going to do a lot of work and list off all the details.
 
[ QUOTE ]
...Try to sell value to penny pinchers. Tell them how you're going to do a lot of work and list off all the details.

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed.

My customer's situation is this. When I began working for the lady she was a widow. Since 2002, she remarried. The fellow has seen me one time prune their trees.

When it comes down to the work they want vs. what the trees should receive... That's a point of slight contention. In a nut shell, they think the trees are.....hold on.... you may have never heard this one before... "getting too big." And they want them "brought down."

When I respond with (what I think to be a very reasonable explanation of the situation) explaining the trees are merely in a juvenile state. They are green Ash trees, which can have the potential to be 75' tall! For Pete sake! A 25' tall green Ash isn't "getting too big"!

I'll digress before I blow a gasket.
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It's hit or miss with the elderly.

When they ask about elderly discount, a good response is...

"Sorry, I don't discriminate", it's classic to see their face.
 
[ QUOTE ]
It's hit or miss with the elderly.

When they ask about elderly discount, a good response is...

"Sorry, I don't discriminate", it's classic to see their face.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously... I LAMOed on that one.
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Great parting Shot BrendanV. Gonna have to remember that one too.

Can't say that we get much "Senior Discount" requests and when we do we skirt around it by saying that we go out of our way to give our Seniors excellent value for their hard earned money. Which is true. we do exactly that.

Primarily we try to establish a give and take conversation and rapport. In that exchange we try to get as much of the work done for the budget they have. Costs are costs and we don't budge on pricing, but we do tailor the scope of the project to fit that budget.

We don't get them all and that is OK.

Taking a line from blinky about the stupid rich. I used to agree and think rich = stoopid. Instead I have discovered that the number of $$$$$$ in their hands as nothing to do with their sensibilities. Rather the amount of Stoopid in their heads makes them stoopid rich.
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For such folks usually it is not a matter of not wanting to part with their money. Instead it is a matter of them having already made up their minds regarding what they want in return for parting with it. Rational, right or wrong.

For example, "I want those 5 trees taken down to get more light to my garden."

"But Ma'am, those trees are on the north east and 40 yards away. Taking them down won't help the light situation.

What will help the light situation is pruning those 8 limbs off these three trees and while the cost will be about the same it it will also reduce the encroachment on your roof and extend the life of those shingles"

"Nope I want the light taking those trees out will give me, thank you anyway..."

Duh...what now george?
 
You can never win if you can't get up from the table and walk away.

Whoever the client, you make your best effort to close the deal at a fair price and what will actually achieve their goals. But in the end, bias and preconceived notions are hard to overcome.

Telling someone a tree they already consider as "getting to big" will get 3x as big would seem to be counter intuitive.

Selling tree care, like selling anything else, is about understanding the true needs of the client vs. what they think should be done. What are we like as clients? Do you do research or ask others about what is the best for the money? Then approach a salesperson with a certain degree of distrust expecting them to try to sell you overpriced junk? How many of us start an estimate with questions about the homeowners yard, gardening habit, home, children, etc... to get a better idea of the situation you're working with? Do you listen to how they present themselves? There's a lot that goes on that has little to do with the job itself and everything to do with the person's personal situation and perspectives.

Like the training we pursue to become better arborist, we need to develop our sales skills as well.
 
The elderly here act like I am the neighborhood lawn boy. They want dirt cheap, always ask for topping and if its over a couple hundred dollars, they act like I'm taking them to the cleaners.

It always leads to "while your here can you trim this and that and oh my gutters are full".

I don't waste much time anymore, write the estimate for proper pruning and "have a good day" is my approach.

One elderly lady wanted to pay me in moonpies.
 
What's the exchange rate on moonpies?

Educating the uninformed and entrenched (the worst possible combination) is like pushing water uphill. This is where the listening to their perspective comes in, you'll quickly see if that individual is the proverbial old dog or just uninformed and willing to change.

It really is a process that takes time to learn and integrated into your approach successfully.
 
when the american dollar is worthless, I will work for moonpies, but until then.....

"uninformed and willing to change"

That would be rare bird! I am very personable, patient and informative during the sales process. Even though I come across brash on the buzz, that's just because I need to vent and the buzz is my outlet.

Sometimes I feel like I was sent back in time 60 years and the buzz is my only communication to modern arboriculture.

Good advise THer!
 
I am doing a couple hedges and 4 fruit trees tomorrow. The folks are in their 80's and the man just hurt himself, can't trim his own yard anymore...
I expect a hard time. I put 3.5 hrs on the job and will be surprised if I make it out in 5 hrs.
He has called 3 times to confirm and add a 'couple little things.' He told me he understands that it may take me a couple days.
Sound familiar?

Gotta do this job 'cause there are no other good calls. Bills due Tuesday. Argh!
 
[ QUOTE ]
...I am very personable, patient and informative during the sales process. Even though I come across brash on the buzz, that's just because I need to vent and the buzz is my outlet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep.
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And to follow up with my rant... I got a message from the gentleman who I did the bid for. He said they received several bids and that they did "Eeny meeny miny moe and that not everyone can get the job."

What on earth is that?
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I would rather hear him say, "Ah, my dog ate your bid, therefore, I can't tell how much you are going to charge. So, we're going with someone else."
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This only reinforces one of my conclusions with the elderly: they are impulsive unpredictible wild cards.
 
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