tree care programs

[treeman82]

hey all. i am supposed to be gettin hooked up with a 971 acre horse farm over by me. CK or his partner owns it. so the money is there. now there are a lot of dead trees, as well as pruning to be done. how do you guys work tree care programs as opposed to a regular job? i am not saying for 1 tree, i am talking about for many, many trees. do you figure in for days a month? or per acre or what? i know that these numbers once i get in there will be nice numbers. i just dont know how to price something that large. and i am quite certain that i will get this account.

 

[treeman82]

by the way, i have another account like this that is already mine, but that guy is a big builder, and owns multiple larger properties. i have tried to sell him a tree care program but am not sure what is involved with that, how to price it, or how to sell it. thanx for your help.

 

[Ray Morneau]

Hello, treeman82 --

Congratulations on the immense responsibility you have come across!

The short answer is: Look your client(s) in the eye with the most controlled, steadiest gaze you can muster and thank them for the opportunity to work with them and the trees on their property. Impart to them the understanding that there are no "quick answers", all decisions have far reaching effects. Dead tree/wood removal may be considered cut-n-dried for the sake of argument (pun intended and appropriate). Still, everything they do from planning to pruning to planting will have effects far beyond their years.

For the long-term, treeman82, develop this as a relationship not unlike any other long-term relationship -- say your vocation or marriage -- not to be taken lightly -- but requiring all the integrity you can offer in terms of full, well-developed answers to your clients' questions and concerns. All with the understanding that you bill for your time, not unlike your clients' auto mechanic or dentist or restauranteur or florist or attorney. And follow through with prompt, thorough answers and counsel which will allow you to stand tall in the company of those of us who are your peers.

Step out there, treeman82, with the honesty and integrity expected by YOU and your client(s) and your equals. If you offer a relationship rather than a not-to-exceed-$$-proposal, if your client is ready for that, then you are providing what your horse farm owner needs. You might need to be the kind of salesman who can provide a proposal now which links to a later open ended contract. The basis for the whole thing is the honesty of your interaction with your client.

Hey, you probably didn't ask for a philosophy lesson, treeman82, but that's my $0.02 worth. I'm sure others on this Site will jump in with their words of wisdom. If you have more specific questions, ask!

 

[Deere John]

If you can establish this property on an annual retainer, that is something that you can take to your bank and grow your business with.

I guess you have two ways to price: by the acre or by the day, for any and all services that you perform. The first thing I thought of was to have a professional forester do an inventory and write a management plan for the property consistent with the owner's wishes. Then you, as the guardian of all things grand in the management plan, can carry it out.

Rather that price by the activity, price by the day or acre. You have to do your homework here to make sure you are in the game, and then make sure that he does not see sticker shock when you give him your proposal.

I'd be happy to give you a few pointers, as a forester, on how to approach the managed forest plan.

 

[treeman82]

ok thanks guys. i had gone there today and talked with the person in charge. it went great. she is gonna look through the book and call me with when she wants to meet and drive around the property. it turns out that we both know a lot of the same people (deli and dealer) also i have some great references. so she said that she is looking forward to dealing with me and i guess i got the job. now i said to her that seeing as how they have a maintenance crew what i would do for them is just get the stuff to the ground. in a controlled manner. that is what i do for the congresswoman, get it to the ground and out of the way and they take care of the disposal. so they are gonna buy by the day for 2 guys chainsaws / ropes / etc. for 500 per day. i think i can get a bit more though. so it is nice.

 

[treeclimber165]

Sounds like a fair gig. $500 per day for 2 men and saws, no expensive chipper maintenance or disposal fees to mess with. If it is a long term deal, you can have a separate crew without the expense and overhead of a chipper truck, chipper, etc. Good luck with it!

 

[Deere John]

Wow - for an open ended deal like that, I'd - I'd - I'd probably wreck my knees trying to earn my retirement

Its a good opportunity to train a newby ground guy too - the job is reasonably rich and it doesn't sound like there are too many values in the way of showing him the ropes without the pressure of other eyes, distractions, etc.

Come to think of it, a climber too - again not too much pressure on valuables, just focus on technique.

Have fun - those jobs are very rare.

 

[Treebeard]

It would seem a job like this would allow you to establish a longterm plan with the owner that allows big work in small bites the owner can & will swallow. I've had jobs where the owner wants you to bid on doing all the trees now..since the y want to sell ...and have never done any work before. You can get some interesting facial expressions when you tell them what it'll cost for 100 trees..rather than spreading that 100 over time, priorotizing needs & budgets. Another upside of a real realtionship...you get to plan tree plantings & establish care programs so that the new trees get the best care early rather than triage years later.