I’ve been preaching this for years… and, in fact, wrote in this blog back in October about this very topic.   However, I just had a conversation with a chap that frosted me.

There’s only two reasons not to get the sale

1)    You/we can’t do what the customer wants, or

2)    You got outsold.

That’s it.  Only two that work.  The rest are just excuses.

I know, I know – some will say “hogwash”.  But, think about it.  Look at yourself.  Recall some of the presentations you have made – snow, landscape, tree care, any industry.   Be honest – at least with yourself.

Somebody under bid you ?  Nope.  If it’s a matter of 10%, 15% or even 20% - that’s not the deciding factor.  Might be the excuse you’re given (and, unfortunately – might accept and foster).  But, price is never THE deciding factor.  Low price often means lousy service.  There are guys in your market who quote incredibly low pricing – but fail to show up - repeatedly.  No customer will put up with that for very long – and if they will, they are not your customer anyway.

The customer wants you to do a $850 per push job for $400 ??  Ok.  That I understand.  The customer wants you to do something you cannot (and should not) do.  That’s not an excuse – it’s a reason.  One of the two I accept as valid.

Customer said “I’m happy with my current guy” and ended up staying with him/her.  Shame on you.  Shame on you for not figuring that out before you went to the trouble of quoting the work.  You outsold yourself, through stupidity.  It’s just plain stupid not to ask questions prior to providing a proposal to a perspective customer.  You need to get to know them.  People do business with people they know, and like.  You need to get to know the potential customer if you want them to do business with you…. And if you got to know them properly, you’d have known they were happy with the incumbent.  And if they are in fact, happy with the incumbent – then don’t try to steal that customer.  Wait until they become unhappy with the incumbent and then pounce on the opportunity.

Enough for now – I’m over it. 

I think.

As a follow-up to my recent post about www.goilawn.com – the past couple of days, I worked with a contractor who is learning the goilawn system.  The owner wants to grow his business and has hired an individual to do sales.  This individual has some specific growth goals to achieve.  I recommended he use the goilawn system for measuring sites.  The owner wanted a “test” to see if the goilawn method would measure up to “the old way”.  So – I suggested we do up a proposal using goilawn.com and the GIE Media estimating package, and then compare it to the owners numbers (from two years back).  It was a large industrial site.  We had previously driven through the site as the owner was showing me a site he would like to have in the future. 

So, in about an hour we measured the site on-line, made notes of imperfections, did up a detailed proposal – and presented it to the owner of this snow contracting business.  I had told the owner (who had hired me to consult with him on growth initiative) not to share his “numbers” until we were done preparing our proposal.

The quote and the measurements were different from the “old” quote by about 10%.  We were 10% lower than what had been previously figured two years ago.  So, we had a discussion and I asked a bunch of questions about how the previous measurements had been obtained.  Come to find out – the person who originally measured the site (with hand wheel and walking) had “squared off everything”, had not taken out the grass islands and had driven the roadways (using the truck odometer to ascertain the distance).  With goilawn (this time around) we had measured everything as it was shown, deleting out the grass area and not “squaring off” the parking lot.  When we went back to the measurements on goilawn, and added up the “deducts” (grass areas, islands, etc.) – the measurements were almost dead on.  As such, we figured the quote numbers were really quite close when drilling down on the data and the differences.  Obviously, our recent measuring was very accurate and the estimating package came up with the right numbers once the margin’s were equal with the old proposal.

The kicker for me was finding out the workup from two years ago took danged near all day to do - and this time around, it took about an hour, start to finish.

After the SIMA Symposium I was impressed with what I saw in their booth.  Now that I’ve had some personal experience with www.goilawn.com – I can say with conviction this is a great tool all snow contractors should use in their business.

It’s July.  You’re beginning to quote new business for next winter.  But – you’re still chasing last winters money.  Some accounts are on the verge of going under.  Others genuinely want to pay you, but cash is an issue – and it’s not going to snow next week anyway.  Some are stretching vendors – just because they can. 

I know – I’ve seen it.  Way back when, one of the largest players in the landscape industry owed a snow management contractor $500,000.  They knew it.  There was a written contract outlining what services were to be completed.  All invoices were approved at the local level. They knew they owed the money.  After spending countless hours trying to work with their people, a meeting was held at their home office.  They said “We know we owe you the money.  However, we have problems with our customer since we agreed to pay you for services they never contracted with us.  So, we are asking you guys to file suit against us.  That will buy us 3 years before we have to pay you.”

True story.  They were right.  They also knew this snow management company was hurting for cash.  Seems like a couple other “good customers” did something similar inasmuch as they said “sue me” – shouldn’t take more than three years for you to collect.  That’s one way to ease up cash flow.

Collecting money is an art.  It’s a profession that might need to be handled by professionals.  There are lots of people out there who profess to be “bill collectors” and promise to get you your money.  I suggest investigating them like you would when hiring any professional.  Don’t just take the first one you find on the internet.

I’ve recently had some conversations with a group that has expressed interest in working with snow contractors.  In fact, they have gone to great lengths to investigate us (snow contractors) as a group and feel the industry has matured to the point where there are snow “professionals” who could benefit from the right collection firm.  Notice I said “right” collection firm.

When choosing your collection firm it is equally essential that you check their credentials. Certifications with associations such as the American Collectors Association (ACA) and California Association of Collectors, lends to the credibility and stability of your collection firm. Ensure that proper licensing and bonding are in place prior to getting started with any collection firm. Also, review the software that is utilized to organize their collection efforts. It would be a good idea to be able to view all accounts at your leisure, a sort of spot checking if you will. Not to say that you need to babysit every account, but you should have access to how your assets are being handled.

Check these guys out….. www .steinbergstearnsandcruz.com  or email Brady Baya at brady@steinbergstearnsandcruz.com 

They are the real deal.

Feel free to email me if you need/want more information.  I’ll send you some interesting stuff to read about collecting money. 

If you are not getting requests for proposals/quotes at this time of year - you’re doing something wrong.  All the big names are out on the street right now, looking for professional proposals from snow contractors looking to increase their portfolios for this upcoming winter.  I know as I’m working with quite a few snow contractors who are just plain overwhelmed with measuring, pricing and quoting work at the moment.  So - if you’re not getting requests in the mail or over the phone, DO something.  That large site just down the street from your office/warehouse ??  Call them or go visit them - NOW !  Thinking you can wait until October to “get started” soliciting new work is foolish and ignorant.  The really good contracts are being let in the next 30 days, and are being quoted right now.

Now’s the time to get out there and find the good ones to quote.