Pros and Cons of Posting Your Rates

[woodlandfarms]

I do a lot of ads, although I just make them, I don't create them.

I might suggest to you to look at your website, and design it well. I hate web pages that are unprofessional. I also don't need a high gloss, lots of moving pictures and things. Simple, loads quickly, easy to read, gets to the point. I think testimonials with pictures is always your greatest selling point. I pay more for word of mouth than I do for just an ad. I then would provide a link to your rates on a secondary page.

As for competition it will always be there. Someone will always undercut you. but if your service is top notch, that probably matters more than a few bucks saved. Concentrate on being competitive, but concentrate more on being good.

 

[Danny C]

I want to be able to talk to the customer. If I talk to them, I normally get the work. I also like to see the propery first. It might take me an extra 1/2hr, but I find it's worth it because when I do I almost always win the customer. Psoting prices allows customers to make their purchasing decision before talking to me. And in general, I am happy to let customer walk who are only interested in price. I am intersted in quality reationships with repeat customers. It's been my experience ther is not much loyalty in a customer whos bottom line is price!

In my opinion, in order for a business to succeed over the long-term, it MUST do five things VERY well:
1. Attract New Customers (Marketing)
2. Retain Existing Customers (Customer Experience)
3. Get Customers to Purchase More Services More Often (Marketing <Create Need>)
4. Maintain Sufficient Profit Margin
5. Continually Increase Market Share, or a

 

[MESSMAKER]

Posting your rates locks you in to charging a higher price. You have to allow for the most difficult, time consuming job possible. Offer options. You can give free estimates and price the job the way they want. I like hourly best, but I do- by the acre- or -by the job- as well. You may have to lead with a low price to get the first few jobs but never let it be the excuse to cut corners. A job that is well done in the time expected and good communication will go a long way.

 

[jenkinsph]

I price my work by the job after looking it over, too many variables to come up with a flat rate pricing. Most customers wan't to know how much it will cost before a job is started and expect this to not change in the course of the work. Stick to the price you quote and learn by your mistakes.

To do well in business you need to develop (over time) a customer list with good customers that are willing to pay enough for you to make a profit. It has taken me a long time to really understand the importance of this, today I have fewer customers but all of them are very good to deal with. I take good care of them and they take good care of me. Do the best job you can for your customers and you will have repeat business and referrals.

I have often answered calls requesting my cost/hour and I ask them why they think this matters. I usually tell them what they really wan't to know is what the cost is for the complete job all things being equal. Obviously quality of work is another issue. it is hard to maintain and grow a business unless you perform quality work. People will remember if you did a good job or poor job longer than the price of the job.

 

[minner]

I would tend to agree with you both. IMO quoting by the hour gives me some flexibility when encountering more difficult conditions. I always pad it a little and the bill at the end of the day is usually less. I never go higher.

Again I try to avoid on site estimates. Due to time lost, fuel, and milage costs, I get pretty close without wasting $50 to quote a $200 job. If I lose $25 because of a couple more trees than expected when I get there for the job, I'm still ahead.

Some of our differences maybe on the scale of job sizes we are referencing. Large jobs greater than 10 acres I will quote on site and usually my customers request it. Small jobs it's usually not worth quoting onsite.

The original post was asking about posting the rates online. Using an hourly rate I think it may be less risky to publish than an acre/hr type rate. I do give several examples on my website to outline suggesting pricing on parcels to give the buyer an idea.

 

[Beltman60]

I too like the price up front and then add the extras
I will call the guy who posts his prices before I call someone else
My :2cents:

 

[sweettractors]

There are several commercial guys on this sight and regardless of your specialty we have one thing in common, COMPETITION. I run a bush hogging business and have been mildly successful. I advertise locally and make my rates known on a up to date website. I'm also detailed in how my rates are calculated so that almost anyone can get a ballpark idea before they even call me. I try to be as accommodating as possible, communicate by any means possible, and excepting nearly every kind of payment there is.

Here is my question:

**Is it more, or less, of an advantage to post your rates to the public in terms of your competition?*

Pro-
Give the potential customer the warm and fuzzy of what a general cost will be
Eliminate folks just fishing for info
Personally I am more apt to call someone of I know ahead of time what to expect vs. "just call for and answer". I always like to know where the number$ come from.

Con-
Your pants are down in front of the competition, and allow yourself to be "shopped" against everyone.
Some folks don't want a "nice guy" they just want it done as dirt cheap as possible

If you have the best rates around, post them. If your rates are high, don't post them. If you have high rates, then explain in detail the services you provide that reflects value added $ to your product or services. Ken Sweet