Landscape Bids: How to court your prospects

In many ways, your landscape bids are kinda like a dating game. Think about the beginning stages of any good relationship. You go the extra mile (impressing), you get to know each other (relationship building), and then you take it to the next level (the pitch).

Your next landscape bid may feel like you're standing out in a crowd of suitors who are all trying to snag the same girl or guy.

Of course, you don’t have to take your prospects out for a nice dinner or even send a bottle of nice wine. But those three phases -- impressing, building and the pitch --  are key.  After years of supporting successful landscape businesses, courting your prospect and winning the bid begins here:

Landscape Bid Secret #1: Impress with a Landscape Design:

Show the customer not only what you can do, but what you can do for them. This is where design software comes in handy. If your business management tool doesn't come fully equipped with a landscape drawing tool? you're really missing out.  With Arborgold’s design software, you can design and draft out a plan specifically for the site. Don't forget. A visual presentation can go a long way in helping prospects become customers. You can even draw it right there in front of the potential customer, and then attach the drawing to your bid. And if you create your bids with Arborgold, you can also include an unlimited number of property photos, shots of trees, shrubs, and any other items relating to your bid. Once the customer is happy and excited, you can email that bid right over and tell them how to accept it from their smartphone. Now that's an stellar close!

But before you get to the close, there’s a little more work to be done...

Landscape Bids: Secret #2 - It's about Relationship Building

In a relationship, the romantic stuff is important, but you need substance. That’s where YOU (or your staff) come in. Get to know your prospects! Note their needs for the landscaping or lawn care project, the details they express (budget, likes/dislikes, timelines), and why they are doing the project (are they putting their house on the market, do they want to have a nice yard for entertaining, etc.). Remembering and incorporating these facts into your proposal will blow a customer away. (Why? Because they know you’re listening. See? This relationship analogy has merit!)

Landscape Bids: Secret #3 - The Pitch:

Much like a marriage proposal, this is when you bring your A-game. Blending together the gloss (a well-designed proposal) and the substance (a proposal that meets the prospect’s needs) is key.

While we hope any marriage proposals you offer are met with an immediate “yes”, a landscape or lawn care project bid may take a little consideration, which is where a follow-up process becomes vital. Arborgold provides an automated follow-up feature so as you create your proposal, you can assign it to a series of automated emails that will be delivered on your behalf so nothing falls through the cracks. For example, your customer can receive a reminder in 24 hours to complete your agreement, and another in a week or 10 days.

Landscape Bids: Secret #4 - Keep the Flame Alive

While you wish every bid was met with an immediate “yes”, sometimes there’s a little back and forth. That’s where having a reliable and comprehensive bid creation system comes in handy.

Let's say you're talking to a prospect about a simple backyard job and they mention wanting a pond, you don't have to cringe. With the Arborgold bid software, you can simply add your premade "Pond" package and it includes line items for excavation, lining, pump, filter, edging, dirt, filling and all the labor resources.

You'll be confident in the fact that nothing is forgotten that can cost you later on, and your customer will be impressed with your incredible professionalism. If decide they don't want the pond job, that's ok. (We’ve all had those customers who like to change their minds, right?) You simply remove the package and they can think about it for the future. In fact you can even move it to a new proposal and send them a reminder later on; maybe at a time of year when you offer a discount on pond jobs. Smart, right?

Excited about what these features could do for your landscape bids and your business? Take a tour and learn more!