Video Disclaimer: A sales approach

[xtremetrees]

To my bids I have recently added a video disclaimer.

It goes something like this:
I have all copyrights to mpegs, digitized photography and can post them to sites such as google.com and yahoo.com, arboristsite. etc.

So far I have not run into any complications but rather videoing and pic taking seems to be documentation ie. evidence.

For instance: A large gov. owned housing complex have marked about 30 trees for trimming. Knowing gov. they will go for the lowest bidder.
I will take pics/videos of before and after and post them here. I have not decided to bid the job yet as the trees are maples and structureally should have been trimmed years ago.

My point is in addition to vol. time to educate clients on proper prunning I've found that clients that do not go with a C.A. and have the trees improperly pruned should be held responsible.

Videoing it seems is becomming apart of my sales approach. It is coercive and back handed almost. But if we as C.A.'s dont stand for the trees who will.

Thanks Ekka for having the guts to stand up for trees.

 

[l2edneck]

One of the bigger companies i sub some work to/from also uses video.He gives out a dvd with big removals he bids.I havent seen it but he says that it helps him to educate clients.I personally think that is a great idea.

 

[Ekka]

If you can have the vids on your website it makes it very easy for customers to see what you are all about.

For sensative video's you simply dont have them itemised but they're there, the customer has to be given the precise file location to view it.

I video my tree reports and then supply the link in the electronic file of the report that I send the customer. The video can be viewed to help them understand the report and also cover my ass down the track. It is a powerful tool.

 

[a_lopa]

Thats a really good idea ekka.

 

[Ekka]

Hey, I just won another job today based on the video tree report I took for an owner from Melbourne ... a picture is worth a thousand dollars or was that a thousand words????? Arghh, you know what I mean.

It's a lot harder to forget what you have seen to what you have read to what you have heard.

 

[a_lopa]

I have done e mail bids thru photos,it worked out ok. saved hours of driving.

 

[Bearclaw]

I often video all my jobs, and any competitors jobs that I have time for. It's a good way to learn the do's and dont's, and like Ekka says C.Y.A.
I too find it invaluable for my customers to see the jobs that I have done. It answers a lot of their questions.

 

[xtremetrees]

Thats a good point ekka. I have been trying to install tree lighting, whats the most simple way. Cobra is expansive but to big what nail it?
So heres a video of a job whereas I am farming light.

 

[Ekka]

No video here.

You putting lights up trees? Or you putting lightening protection up?

What's cobra got to do with lighting or lightening?

 

[xtremetrees]

how would you fix a light socket and wire toa tree?

I have one customer that respresents a whole neighborhood of million dollar trees, why may want me to display the neighborhood at night

Oh I took this last week ekka, climb this

 

[Ekka]

Hmmm,

Screw them with stainless screws. Just take a cordless drill and wack them in, heck, they shove stainless screws and pins in humans and we do alright. :biggrinbounce2:

I wonder if as the tree grows it'll "eat" them up?

 

[xtremetrees]

Great idea no just return on your final 5th year of pruning cycle and unscrew them! Great idea ekka!

I gotta write a script for my videos, im finding alot goes into a report a vid report, what goes in youreen.
Stainless steel dont rust!

I think better is a mini-cobra Ive seen alot of light in trees and they always screw um or nail um.

Give me a few hours to burn this vid.and upload it.

 

[Ekka]

I gotta write a script for my videos

Cant you use a mic and voice over?

 

[xtremetrees]

Nope nope dont know how to do that bro. I saw on CSI last night how videos are increasingly substantial evidence in court battles.
Not all scientist are ethical thou.
Ill do my best video tree report it will be my first, tommorrow.

 

[xtremetrees]

Ive made the video but having problems uploading it google is slow and dont accept vids during certain times of the day.

 

[Ekka]

I get that a lot with Google, slow as a snail to load and then it crashes, especially on big videos.

Then they have to validate it ...

Anyways, we are waiting.

 

[xtremetrees]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5190027092014405151

Turn your volume up and you can hear the morbark chipper power down
All this wood is ZERO ground impact