Winter Storm

[Dan Flinn]

Well, here it is. The first winter storm to hit my area in the four years I've been in business for myself. The forecast is for 3-5 inches of snow, turning to freezing rain with accumulations of up to 3 inches of ice.

The guy I worked for before that always stayed busy during storms, but he had a very large customer base who relied on him for such things as clean-up etc. after a storm.

I see this as an opportunity, not just financially, but also a chance to develop new customers, opening discussion on tree care, not just providing storm clean up. I'm not sure exactly what is the best way to go about this.

I was wondering how you folks go about capitalizing on winter storms? How do you approach potential clients - drive around and look for storm damage and toss a business card?

As I write this, I am thinking that this may be a silly question, but I'd value your input.

Thanks in advance for you help!
Dan

 

[TREETX]

Not sure what my input is worth - as I have been in biz less time than you. With only one ice storm that I got minimal work out of.

Wind storms are the one that do the most damage here as ice is rare. Damage is pretty high with ice here since the semi-evergreen live oaks really load up those spreading crowns with a lot of ice.

If you have a large client base, don't worry about calls - they will come to you and usually you can tack on their neighbors. If there is alot of work, go a head and rent an extra chipper asap and try to find labor. Allows you to strike while the iron is hottest. If you don't expect so much work, you can drive around but I have found there are a lot of landscape/hacks, etc that jump on that the fastest and push prices down.

Do you work for any property management people?? In the last few storms, property managent people have kept me so busy I didn't have to go around knocking or waiting for the phone to ring. My problem was getting enough labor.

We had a big storm last November and I missed it this year. I really needed the extra 20k to push me through the winter this year. No storms here. Praying for a little ice damage in December. I hate making money off of other's misfortune but hey, I need to eat in january too.

I would proactively go to landscapers, LA's, and property mgmt people. Try cold calling and introducing yourself on the phone. "hey this is Dan Flinn with XYZ tree co, if you need help removing storm damage or salvaging(fixing) damaged trees, please keep me in mind and give me a call at ......we would love to help out."

I found a lot of landscapers with service contracts like you to bid damage on properties, complete the work, then the bill them with a few hundred tacked on.

Good chance to establish new clients by helping them at a FAIR price.

It was 72 at 6pm yesterday. Today it is rainy and 40. Cold tommorrow too - I had better check the glove thread

Good Luck!!

If damage hits a structure, suggest exploring an insurance claim if the price is initially daunting to them.

 

[Dan Flinn]

Thanks for your reply!

You gave me some great ideas! I just emailed the management company that I work for! I had forgotten all about them.

I agree that there are alot of guys that want to make a buck during a storm. Personally, I don't want to drive around drumming up business, afterall, I still have jobs lined up til the middle of this month and some in January. However, I do want a new dump truck, so I thought I'd pursue this storm thing.

Part of my marketing plan is a "Landscaper's Kit" that basically has a brochure, card and a letter describing my services and offering a finders fee, etc. I am going to add the storm clean up to the letter. Most of the work I get from this is spray work and the occasional pruning though.

Once again, thanks for responding!

Dan

 

[mikey]

Hi Dan,Riding around looking for jobs is one way,However listing your services with local insurance companys has worked very well for me.Storm damage,dead risk trees,any tree the insurance is involved with.Good Luck!

 

[M.D. Vaden]

In Beaverton, Oregon, we are WAY overdue for an ice or wind storm.

I look forward to the business that will be gained.

In our view, its not rejoicing in iniquity! Previous storms here have demonstrated that almost 3/4 of the damage is due to negligence in routine care.

Many homeowners just let their trees store up the weakness.

I bought my first 4 wheel drive last summer. The second week I had it, I bought 4 tire chains for it.

Chains with links for the front, and the links with the inverted "V" bars for the back. So when the weather hits, we will be the most prepared to safely seek the sales.

1/3 of the work here will be an insurance issue, so price will not matter. Its who gets to their door first with a promise to eliminate the problem.

In our area, 80 % of the vehicles in ditches during ice and snow are 4 wheel drive trucks. They fail to understand about those trucks not differing from cars during breaking.

We were not licensed for tree work last group of storms a decade or two back, but we sure are now.

Mario Vaden
Beaverton, Oregon

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I've traveled for a few big storms and find that most buisness comes from yellow pages.

People with catastrofic damage just open the book and keep calling till they find someone who will come out NOW!!!. The trick is to have someone answering the phone all the time. either they get a buissy signal or a "Hello Danny's Tree Manangement!"

If tell them that you are prioritizing the work by need and you will come out ASAP hazard conditions for $200 per manhour, or whatever you think working your tail off 12 hours a dy 7 days a week is worth. Many will jump at it because they are getting answering machines from everyone else.

As the time goes by, and the work load diminishes then you scale your rate back.

call a crane company and see what you can work out with them ahead of time.

You can offer to come out at your usual rate at a later date if the risk is not severe.

Get signed contracts for everything, include "payment on completion" don't let anyone tie payment to the insurance. You work for them, not their insurance company.

Some coverage will pay for removal of debrise from structures and have a cap on the cleanup. One way to get around this some is to insist that chipping the debris is nessesary for the removal operation, bill this and miscilaniouse cleanup separatly.

If you need help I am available with my rigging gear, including the GRCS. I know a few other good top climbers that would be interested.

 

[Dan Flinn]

Thanks so much for all your information. What I have learned so far is that although I thought I was prepared for this event, I'm not even close. Sure, I will go look for work, but I realize now that the effort needs to be placed ahead of time - making myself known to insurance companies, arranging with the local crane rental (I have worked with them on removals), management companies, etc.

John, I appreciate you offer to work - I'll see how this goes, but I'll be more prepared next time. I will certainly keep you in mind.



Dan

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

My experiance is that not much money comes from insurance companies, and they are slow to pay, want haggle the price after the fact...

It realy all depends on how big the storm is. If it is localized, then don't even bother. the lowball "wood ticks" will swarm all over it before the sun comes up. All that will be left are the people that want to dicker every aspect, or DIY. Since you have sufficient work to last the next few weeks, stuff will come to you from the storm as you go. If customers ask why you are not out chacing the work, tell them its not worth the hassle and you made a comitment to them.

If it is region wide then there will be work for everyone and their little sister.

If you dont have a YP add, then roll out to your past customers and check up on them. Start with your neighbors if anything. Youll be so tired that you wont want to drive any real distance to get home.

Good thing you don't have your hopes up, it probably wont happen anyways. You learn after a while that they are 10-20 year events for a reason. Then when you see one you will cry that this is not what you wanted.

BTW that is my cell phone at the bottom, give me a call if you need anything.

 

[Dan Flinn]

John,

Thanks for the info. As it happens, the temperature rose and now we just have a messy slush.

I share your thoughts about the "wood ticks". I guess in the back if my mind, I didn't want to be a tick, but lots of people I talk to seem to think it's a great chance to make it through the winter.

I do have a yellow pages add, but this year I moved it from the "tree service" section to the "Arborist" section, so I probably won't get any hits from that.

Thanks for the phone number, my partner and I have hoped for a solid couple of weeks work that we could involve you, or others in.

Dan

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The "ticks" as Tom calls them are the hacks that migrate in with the storms to screw up the trees.

Stoprm work is part of the service we provide. I'm not shy about that, it is supply and demand. As Nate is fond of saying, we are selling man hours. The demand is high make some dough.

Here is the storm total radar for the Carolinas area.

http://weather.noaa.gov/radar/loop/DS.80stp/si.kgsp.shtml

 

[underwor]

Weather Theives

Here in ND, our only claim to fame is cold and snow. Now those big city folks of the east are
stealing the snow. They probably don't even have snowmobiles or snow tires (come to think of
it I don't have these either) so they can go out and play in it properly. We at least did get the
cold last night, about -15F, so they are not going to steal our ice fishing too.

That's the way with those folks out in Washington, DC and thereabouts, want to keep everything for themselves.

From the snowless plains of ND where the temp is going to hit a balmy 25F today,

Bob Underwood

 

[DDM]

I dont know how bad it is in Ashville or Atlanta but Here in Greenville theres massive tree Damage looks like a Severe windstorm went thru about every neighborhood. My Day started out at 10 pm last nite when i got a call for a Large bradford blocking the Road in a S/D. Went out cut it out of the street Collected a check and told them I'd be back in a few days to clean up the Mess for the remainder of the fee. And Estimates all day today Guess I Have enough lined up for the next 5 days already.

O Yeah and went by and rented a spare chipper.

 

[SHOPEMan]

Dan,
I live in Hendersonville and as you can see we did not get much in the way of ice. I have some family that lives in Charlotte and I understand that you would have all the fallen trees you could want to cut there. They said that it was HUGO all over!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

TV is making it look messy, ice everywhere.

 

[Oxman]

This wood tick is for hire. Fly me out, put me up, and put me to work. My buddy will climb up a storm for you, as well. We also have a bucket truck to put on a flatbed and haul over there, if needed.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Who's your buddy?

 

[Tree Machine]

Storms as opportunity, not just work

JP makes some great statements,

roll out to your past customers and check up on them. Start with your neighbors if anything. Youll be so tired that you wont want to drive any real distance to get home.

My experiance is that not much money comes from insurance companies, and they are slow to pay, want to haggle the price after the fact...

and

Get signed contracts for everything, include "payment on completion" don't let anyone tie payment to the insurance. You work for them, not their insurance company.

The man exudes much wisdom. I used to chase storms, and always regretted it. Don't mind working storms, but driving any sort of distance to visit an unfamiliar area.... you're mixing with the ticks.

JP's first quote, check up on your old customers. I've found there is no better way than by written word (gives you an opportunity to update your client list too). Nobody does this, because it takes a little time, but consider it an investment. I've done this six times in the last 5 years, and it just works.

(Ahead, I'm hypothetically assuming 50 people)
I use a postcard, 4-1/4" x 5-1/2. It forces you to keep your words concise. One thing: you're not gonna write 50 postcards. You may write 50 addresses, but only one post card. You write the postcard, handwritten, and don't sign it.. Take the postcard to Kinko's and tell them you'd like four of these, arranged and printed on a single page of cardstock, and you'll need 13 pages. Then you need the sheets cut in fourths. This is going to cost you about 5 bucks for the paper, printing and cutting. The 50 stamps (at 23 cents each), another $11. 50.

Here's an EXAMPLE:

Greetings Folks, FlinnMan Dan, your tree guy, just dropping
you a courtesy note.

I'm hoping the current storm damage to your trees is minimal.
Tree work is in excessive demand right now, and as with storm-
damaged trees, many uninsured cleanup guys are out and about.
Be careful.

My greatest concerns are with you, your friends and your neighbors.
There are too many calls for me to field and I've decided I am serving
only my past clients, and those people you refer. You are all valuable
to me and until February, I am on-call and serve only you and
those you know. Please feel free to pass on my number and make
sure they mention to me your name. Sincerely,
Home # Direct cell #

THEN you sign it. Sign them in blue, or purple ink. This is important. It is direct correspondence; you to them. It's personal. One post card. 50 stamps. 50 signatures. That's what you're looking at.

The very first job you get as a result of this will obliterate the costs you have into it. Also, you've harnessed the consciousness of 50 (or a hundred if its a two-person household) who are willing to tell their friends about you simply because you took the time to drop them a personal, handwritten note. It keeps you in tighter geographic areas familiar to you. And you've increased your client base by virtue of word-of-mouth referrals. That's good business. Good luck and climb safe. I wish you the best. Tree Machine

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

That is for after the major work is done. Right now, if the phone is not ringing off the hook, may want to go out and physicaly check on "your best clients".

There is nothing worng with doing a cold call, unless they are staying at the Ramada in the next town over because power is still down.

As things slow down and mail is running normal again, maybe write up that card, take your mailing list to the printers on a disk and have them print everything up, front and back then run them over to the post office.

Under the circumstances I don't think anyone would be offended by a form letter.

Though I wonder if Dan will have the energy to check in with us at all for the time being.

 

[Tree Machine]

Roger that

Yes, what JP said.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I'm heading out tomorrow to work with Guy Mielleur in Apex, NC. Ox is flying out and hopefully BK will call me tonight.

Thanks Reed, for the good word.