1st bid and its commercial

[edsaws]

B -2 you are right I am pricing as what I would for a residential A lawn is a lawn no? Do you feel I should charge more? What would you charge? This is strictly a mow and blow job with a trim in between mows hour and a half tops. I threw in the mulch quote hoping for an up sell for $325 only reason that's so cheap is I was figuring a skim coat of 2" mulch. Seriously what would you charge I 'm still new to this game and do not want to low ball. Your thoughts appreciated. Ed

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[B-2 Lawncare]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by edsaws B -2 you are right I am pricing as what I would for a residential A lawn is a lawn no? Do you feel I should charge more? What would you charge? This is strictly a mow and blow job with a trim in between mows hour and a half tops. I threw in the mulch quote hoping for an up sell for $325 only reason that's so cheap is I was figuring a skim coat of 2" mulch. Seriously what would you charge I 'm still new to this game and do not want to low ball. Your thoughts appreciated. Ed Yes a lawn is a lawn, here is how I see it, if a home owner chooses to have a lawncare company come in and take care of their lawn it's a luxury for them. they could go out and get a weedeater and a mower and take care of it themselves. At a commercial property who is going to weedeat and mow, The secretary? so yes you can charge more than you would for a residential. As for what I would charge? There are several factors that have to considered when asking this question. First, is what is the competition charging? You need to know Second, Can you afford to compete with what the competition is charging? Third, are you taking on this job to pay the bills? Or is this job extra income? You need to have a commercial sales pitch. In your pitch you need to emphasize that you are the one-stop-shop for them. "sprinklers, mulch, mowing, all the up sale stuff" You have to sell yourself and what you can do!!!! One of my pitches is you hire me so you don't have to think about your business - it is taken care of. Commercial is where the money is at. So in my area, I would charge min $200 But don't go off of what I would charge. Charge what the market will bear. I also know that everybody runs their business a little difernt. I tend to be agressive. so keep that in mind.

[edsaws]

B-2 Thanks for the input and ideas on sales pitch gives me something to work on.

[oasislawn2]

I would have said $100-110 or $125 if it looked like they were going to be a difficult customer. but that is to use a 61"ztr... as long as they are open to using a large mower then i think you are right on the price. like you said, it will be a simple mow and it couldnt take more than 2 hours. $50/hour is a good rate. you are right with your price.

[Steve]

Keep us posted on how this turns out.

[edsaws]

Well this job didn't pan out. Chalk one up for experience. Says he's going o buy a used commercial mower and do it himself. Whatever, I wished him luck and gave him my card and said to give me a call if he needs any work done in the future.

[Steve]

I'd keep my eye on the property, because if he does this, I bet he gets tired of doing it relatively quickly.

[B-2 Lawncare]

Originally Posted by edsaws

Well this job didn't pan out. Chalk one up for experience. Says he's going o buy a used commercial mower and do it himself. Whatever, I wished him luck and gave him my card and said to give me a call if he needs any work done in the future.

Did you bid it? Did he have more than one person bid the job? I would go back and ask him what he thought of the price, ask how much the other bids came in at. Just so you know what to charge next time.

[edsaws]

Steve I will be keeping and eye on it. Its basically a 2 man machine shop and once they get swamped with work I'd put money on him calling.

B2 yes I bid it and I know I was in the ball park. I also know the owner a little and he is a lowballer. But I will keep on him as the weather gets hotter and hotter I'll keep poking my head in and keep him thinkin.

[lawnsape]

I think the price of $100.00 was a good price that is just a little over an acre. If I were cutting it with my machine it would probably take about 30 minutes. I did think the mulch price was a little high in my opinion. $325.00 for 4 yds equates to $81.25 per yard I would have probably quoted around $225.00 for that but hey if you can get it get it. I know one thing my prices have a tendency to rise with the temperature