We live in a free market. That means that anyone who is going to be successful has to know how to win customers away from the competition. This is no place for compassion. Granted that if you win customers away from your competitor, they will lose business which will make it harder on them to pay their bills. That is not your problem. By building a solid methodology for winning new customers, you can capture all of the lawn care market you need from the local markets and see your business succeed.
Bidding on a new job and winning a new customer is as much an art as the work of lawn care is. As the owner of your lawn care company, it falls to you to do customer relations and win new customers. There is one thing to keep in mind about how to bid on a job and that is that winning the job is about a lot more than the bid.
You would think that if you can bid the lower price, you will get the job. But home owners and property managers are smarter than that. They know that just hiring the cheapest lawn care company is not a good idea. If that lawn care company makes a mess of their property, they end up with a much worse situation than is justified by the few dollars they saved on that bid.
Your reputation is a big part of your presentation to a potential new customer. If you must present all of your credentials in a bid or an RFP (Request for Proposal), make that document well grounded in the things that are important to customers. You can bid a higher cost than some of your competition and still win the bid if the customer is convinced you are reliable and that you will do a great job on their lawn or the grounds of their business.
So include some text discussing your background, how long you have been in business and some notable customers who have used you for years. If you come recommended by a customer the prospect might know, include that recommendation letter or drop that customer's name in the proposal. The prospect will pick up the phone to verify that you are doing a great job for that customer and that live recommendation is solid gold in putting your bid ahead of the rest.
Future customers want to know that you believe you are the best company for the job. You can prove that by including an enticing offer that is hard for the prospect to refuse. Give the prospective customer a "coupon" for the first yard care session for free. That costs you the labor, time and gas to perform the free service. But it is a potent marketing tool that invariably results in a contract for long term service. Also don't be afraid to include an iron clad, no questions asked guarantee of satisfaction with your work. Good customers will not abuse that and they will feel confident in using your service knowing you stand behind your work with that strong a guarantee.
Learning to write a good proposal is a skill you will develop over time. There is no "one way" to write a good bid so you can use your own personality and style in putting together your proposal to the customer. If possible present your bid to the customer in person. Then you can use your charm and establish rapport which is even more effective. But by becoming skilled at winning new customers, you will have a crucial skill that will go a long way toward guaranteeing that your business will have a long and prosperous future ahead of it.
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