Getting the business – quotes and estimates

One important difference between running a general gardening business and a gardening round is that, with the latter, you will quickly achieve a regular client base and will arrive at the point where you no longer need to advertise or look for new customers. In running a general gardening business you will be constantly on the lookout for new clients, which is fun and exciting if tackled correctly.

The regulars

While undoubtedly you will have regular custom with this business, it will most probably be on a seasonal basis. Many of your clients will require you to carry out a pre-defined job on either an annual or bi-annual basis, for example a visit in spring to get the garden ready for the coming season, and the next visit in the autumn to tidy up and put the garden to bed for the winter. However, the vast majority of the work you do may be only one-off jobs. This means that not only will you have to seek out new customers throughout the year, but you will also have to provide prospective clients with a written estimate detailing how much the job they want doing is going to cost them.

The difference between a quote and an estimate

Estimate. Put simply an estimate is just what it says it is. It is an estimation of what you believe the job will cost to do. Of course the final bill can be greater or less than what you originally estimated. But unless there have been huge variations in the original work planned, then your final bill shouldn’t vary too much from your original estimate.

Quotation. A quotation is much the same as an estimate in that you are providing your prospective client with how much you believe the job will cost to do. But there’s one important difference:

Offer free estimates

My advice is that you offer free estimates, as opposed to free quotations. It’s unlikely that you would either be able to or want to start charging for estimates and quotations. Were you to do this, I think it’s a sure bet that few if any potential clients would ever agree to this. And who could blame them!

Visiting potential clients in their gardens and providing them with a written estimate is a major part of this business. The time it takes to do this properly should not be underestimated. Initially you may find some difficulty in trying to work out costings, especially when it comes to deciding how much you should be charging for labour. Unfortunately, there is no pre-determined formula that I can give you for arriving at your calculations. What follows is the method I use.

Estimate preparation

• Make a list of the jobs that you are being asked to provide an estimate for, or if it is only one job then still write it down.
• Now write down all the things that you will have to do in order to complete this job.
• Next put a rough estimate of how long you expect each individual task is likely to take you.
• Finally, list all the additional costs that you are likely to incur.

Case study

Here’s an example of an estimate for cutting a front hedge.

My client, Mrs Welding, wants the hedge to be reduced in height by at least 2ft to allow additional light into her front garden. The hedge comprises mature, woody shrubbery, which will be difficult to cut.

Here is my list of the separate tasks that I will have to undertake. Alongside each in brackets I have roughly worked out how much time each task will take.

• 1.Cut the hedge (2.5 hours)
• 2.Clear up afterwards and put cuttings in trailer (1/2 hour)
• 3.Take debris to the dump (1/2 hour)

Additional costs will be as follows.

• 1.Tipping charge. I estimate the quantity of hedge trimmings, branches etc that I will have to remove will fill my trailer and any additional space I have in my van. The load will be bulky as opposed to heavy. Thus I’ll be charged the minimum tipping charge – £24.
• 2.Fuel. Petrol for hedge trimmer and chain saw, and travelling to and from client’s property, including tip.

Allow £10.

My hourly rate for hedge trimming is £15.

Thus my estimate is as follows.

Labour 4 hours × £15	£ 60
Tipping charge	£ 24
Fuel	£ 10
Total costs	£ 94
Plus 15% profit	£ 14.10
Final total	£108

Explanatory notes for my estimate

How did I arrive at £15 as being my hourly rate?

This is a relatively straightforward job, therefore I have charged my minimum hourly rate, this being £15. Were this task more difficult, for example if it involved more back-breaking work, I would increase my hourly rate accordingly and this could be anywhere between £15 and £40.

Tipping charges and fuel costs are self-explanatory.

Finally, I have included a 15% profit and rounded off the amount to give a final figure. Get into good habits right from the beginning and always include, no matter how small, an element of profit.

Here’s what my final written estimate to Mrs Welding would look like:

This has nothing to do with greed or trying to milk as much as you can from your client. You include it because you are running a business and in doing so you are taking a risk. Not only is profit your return for investing your money and time in your business, but it’s also necessary to cover the wear and tear on your equipment so that you can afford to buy new tools when needed.

Don’t be put off by having to provide written estimates. Initially you may find it somewhat daunting figuring out how much you should charge and whether or not you’re too expensive or you haven’t charged enough.

With experience you will soon learn how long certain jobs are likely to take you and the task of estimating will soon become easier.

Guidelines for estimate preparation

• During your initial meeting with your prospective client make sure that you take notes.
• Identify what exactly you are being asked to do. You’ll find that some people you meet, whether deliberately or not, will be very vague about what they want done. You must clarify exactly what they want. If they want their hedges trimmed, fine. But how much do they want off the top? And get them to identify which hedge they want you to cut. Does the front include the sides? What about the back garden?
• Break down the job or jobs that you are being asked to do and decide how long they will take you. Be realistic. Quality work takes time.
• During your initial meeting, discuss with your client what the job will actually involve you doing.
• Point out that you are charged for dumping garden waste, and what those charges are. You may find that your client is happy for you to simply bag up the cuttings and that they will take them to the dump themselves. If this is the case then ensure that you remember to build in some additional labour to cover having to bag up the waste.
• If the job is such that you already know how much you are going to charge then tell your client during your initial meeting. If they say yes, they’re happy with the price, then agree a provisional date to start, or if this is not available then agree on rough time scale.
• If you give a price straight away, always provide a written estimate too. By doing this there can be no argument at a later date as to what it was that you agreed you would do. Your estimate can also protect you from having to cope with unforeseen circumstances.

Unforeseen circumstances

There will be times when you will be asked to provide an estimate where the job appears to be relatively straightforward, such as digging over a border or removing a rockery and levelling the site. Both tasks are not difficult and you should have no problem providing your prospective client with an estimate.

Hidden hazards

However, what you would you do if when you start digging over the border you find your spade hits concrete and upon further investigation that the border isn’t anything more than a light dressing of soil on top of what was a concrete patio? Or when removing the rockery you discover that it is covering up a coal bunker?

These scenarios are not uncommon. Neither is it always the case that your client has deliberately tried to mislead you. More often than not, it’s simply that your client did not know whatever you found existed.

When the unforeseen has happened to me it’s usually been when I’ve been asked to work on a garden that the owner has recently acquired, and in all honesty they had no idea that there was a hidden patio, tree stump, concrete footpath, air raid shelter, or whatever. Fortunately, to date all of my clients have been most understanding when I tell them that obviously removing the unforeseen obstacle will increase the price of the job.

It would be foolish to hope that you will always have such accommodating clients. Make sure that you cover this in your written estimate.

I strongly recommend that you include a short qualifying ‘get out of trouble’ paragraph in all your estimates:

‘This estimate is based on the assumption that there are no hidden obstacles beneath the surface such as buried tree stumps, patios, hard core and the like. If such obstacles are found then the costs of removing them would be additional to those costs already described above.’

Provided you discuss these eventualities with your prospective clients during your initial meeting then there should be no problem if and when you come across the hidden patio. As I said earlier, I have had no problem with charging extra for dealing with the unforeseen. But it’s good practice and a way of avoiding possible disputes to warn your client in advance that your price is based on the assumption that you’re going to be digging over soil and not, as I’ve found on occasions, to first have to remove a footpath or patio!

Your estimate should be laid out in a way that is:

• easy to read
• unambiguous
• respectful, without being either patronising or grovelling
• clearly written, identifying what it is that you will be doing, in the event that your prospective client accepts your estimate.

Other issues you should cover

• measurements
• general notes.

When including any measurements, you must provide them in metric. There is no problem using feet and inches, provided you include the metric equivalent alongside. This is a legal requirement and not something that you can ignore.

You should also indicate how long your estimate is valid for. There is a good reason for this – your prospective client’s garden will continue to grow until such time as they employ someone to do the work. Overgrown gardens became more overgrown as time goes on. This may mean that the job you initially thought would take you a half-day will now take a day. There will also be more cuttings, trimmings, weeds and so forth to take to the dump, which means increased tipping charges.

Delivering your estimate

If you haven’t already given any indication to your client of how much the job is likely to cost then you must be careful of just posting off your estimate and hoping for the best.

Wherever possible I try to give my client a price during my initial meeting with them. Obviously the more standard the job, the easier it should be for you to price there and then. By doing this I can get the order and book a date in the diary without having to worry about being undercut by the competition.

Standard jobs would include:

• hedge trimming
• lawn cutting
• weeding
• pruning.

These are the jobs that you should be able to give a price for there and then. Bring your diary with you to the meeting so that as soon as you give your price you can book the work in. This isn’t being pushy, this is being professional, and in my experience this is what clients are looking for. Nothing is more frustrating than having to wait weeks for an estimate to arrive then to discover that you can’t afford whatever it is you want done.

Initially, you may find it difficult to price jobs on the spot. This is only natural, but you’ll soon become fluent at sizing up how long something is going to take you.

I find it much easier to work out a price when I’m there looking at whatever it is I’m being asked to do as that way I can ask all the questions I need to as well as having a really good look at what the job will entail.

The jobs that you probably won’t be able to quote for immediately would include:

• turfing
• creating hard features such as walls, pathways and patios
• large clearance jobs
• fencing.

Rather than simply post my estimate I like to talk it through with my clients. That way I am more likely to get the order than if I’d just posted it. So in the event that I’m unable to give a client a price at the initial meeting, I’ll either try to arrange a second appointment, or if this isn’t possible because time won’t allow I’ll always phone to discuss the price, what it includes and so on. That way I can gauge whether or not it’s worth the cost of sending a written estimate, or of course book an appointment to have the work done. You can confirm the price and date in your letter.

Try to give your client an instant estimate

Where possible you should always try to give an instant estimate. By doing this you allow yourself the greatest chance of getting the order while your prospect is suitably warmed to you. If you don’t or can’t give an estimate, the chances are that the next gardener coming to quote for the job not only will give a price there and then, but agree it and enter a provisional start date in their diary. Wherever possible you should always aim to give your estimate there and then, agree it if you can and pencil in a provisional start date.

You’re also more likely to get the go-ahead when you’re there standing in the garden with your prospective client than at a later date when other things outside of your control have overtaken your client’s interest.

What’s paramount is that you give the best presentation you can at the estimate stage. This will include not only arriving on time for your appointment but dressing appropriately and taking time to listen to what your prospective client wants you to do. Don’t rush in showing off your knowledge or offering advice that isn’t asked for. Be patient and let your prospective client talk you through what it is they want you to do.

Wait until they have finished before offering advice or suggesting alternatives. No one likes being interrupted. What you believe to be a helpful suggestion may well be taken as an unnecessary interruption so keep listening, take notes, smile and then at the end offer any suggestions you may have.

When you get to the stage where you’re ready to give your client their estimate, you should switch from knowledgeable gardener to professional salesperson. Let’s imagine your client is Mrs Lawn. You’ve listened to her requirements, made notes and, where appropriate, given any suggestions as to how the job can be improved. You’re now at the stage where you know how much you’re going to charge for the work. Now what?

You could simply give her your price straight away, hold your breath and wait for her to say yes. Alternatively you could stack the odds in your favour by introducing some simple, professional sales techniques. But before you do this, you must first ‘qualify’ your client which means ensuring that when you give her your price that she is there and then in a position to agree it.

For example, it may be that she has to consult Mr Lawn or someone else in the household. If this is the case then you’ve got a problem. Were you to give your price at that stage you risk losing the opportunity to present your estimate to encourage a positive response. As opposed to your sending a well-presented estimate on headed notepaper with details of your business, you’re simply giving a price, which at a later stage could be easily dismissed by the other deciding party whom you have not yet met.

What happens in these cases is that Mrs Lawn is very keen on using you to undertake the gardening job and as soon as Mr Lawn arrives home she tells him that you’ve called and in the same breath tells him how much it’s going to cost.

Invariably, this will be ‘too expensive’, as the chances are Mr Lawn will have had the day from hell at work and has spent the last hour sitting in a traffic jam somewhere. So he’s hot, bothered and not really in the mood to buy. So my advice would be that you always qualify your sales prospect:

• If you give them a price there and then, can they agree a provisional start date? If not, then you’re better off either arranging a further appointment to meet the other deciding party or, in the case of relatively small jobs, sending a written estimate.
• The easiest way I know to qualify a prospect is to simply ask them during the course of your meeting if they will be able to agree a provisional start date if you can agree the price. Don’t make a big deal about it, simply ask the question somewhere during the meeting.

On the basis that she can give the go-ahead at once then you’re better giving your price immediately. That way you can hopefully agree the deal and a provisional date for starting without any further administration expense on your behalf.

‘Well Mrs Lawn,’ you say. ‘I think I’ve now got all your requirements. But to make sure let me read them back to you.’

You then go through your list of things to do with Mrs Lawn. The key to success is to include everything, even those things she hadn’t perhaps thought about. For example, for you to take away the green waste and dispose of it. Once you’ve finished your list, you then write the price down on one of your cards. (You could do as I do and have specially printed estimate cards for the task, which not only look professional but also allow you to leave your client with a written estimate.)

‘To undertake all of this work, my best price would be £300,’ you say.

There are two things you now must do. The first and most important is for you to say absolutely nothing further. It doesn’t matter how unbearable the silence becomes, you simply shut up. The second thing is to wait. You wait for as long as it takes for Mrs Lawn to say something, which could be anything from a couple of seconds to a minute or more. Initially you might find this difficult, but believe me, this works. The reason you say nothing is that you’re giving your client an opportunity to think about it. They need time just as you’ve needed time to work through their requirements, list them and come up with a price.

When Mrs Lawn breaks her silence she’ll either say yes, no or would you do it for x amount. Whether you come off your original price is up to you. Personally, I give my best price and let that be that. I’ve found over the years that those who haggle and bargain are always the ones who then later insist that something else was included when it wasn’t. I also feel it devalues my service if it’s open to continual negotiation. So I stick by my price, which is why I always say: ‘My best price is...’.

Working out your prices

Success depends on getting your pricing right. Charge too much and you won’t get any business. Undercharge and you’ll get lots of business that won’t make you any money and consequently you’ll go bust.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

Let’s imagine for a moment that your prospective client asks you round to have a look at their back garden. When you get there she shows you a large currently overgrown area, which is surrounded by a path and perimeter fencing. She outlines what she wants and this includes:

• the entire garden cleared of everything, and everything removed from the site
• the area levelled and prepared for turfing
• the existing fence replaced.

Obviously, this is a good job if you can get it. So you’re keen to give a fair price, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, and here’s the but, don’t be tempted into charging less for each individual job than you would normally were the job not so large, because you may find that after you’ve sent your estimate your client only asks you to go ahead with part of the job. This isn’t uncommon.

Problems arise when, in your enthusiasm to get the big job, you decide that you’ll give a fairly keen price for clearing the main garden and earn your profit on the frills such as the fencing and turfing. Then to your horror your prospective client phones accepting your estimate, but only wants you to clear the main garden. They’ll do the fun bit like laying the turf and so on.

I cannot stress the importance of this enough. With some turf suppliers now offering a free laying service, more and more clients now only want the ground prepared for turfing. So make sure you charge enough for the items that you know your client will either not be willing or able to do themselves. By doing this you can ensure that in the event that only part of your original estimate is accepted, at least you will still earn profit.

Some other issues

You will need to consider:

• Where you’re going to physically locate your business.
• Whether or not you’re going to employ staff.
• How you’re going to cope with the pressures of running this type of business on a day-to-day basis.

Where are you going to locate your business?

• from home
• rented premises
• friend’s or relative’s property.

Working from home

By far the best place to base your fledgling business is in your own home. This of course will depend on the amount of space you have available and whether or not you have off-street parking, garage and your own garden.

If you have all these things then great! But with most new properties now coming with postage sized parking, one space per family, and a garden that you would be hard pressed to fit in a 6x4’ greenhouse, you may well find that you’re unable to run your business from home. And even if you have the space available, do you really want to clog it up with a van, trailer and whatever else your business will have?

Nothing is surer to bring you into unnecessary conflict with your neighbours and possibly your local council than clogging up the street outside your home with vans and trailers. You also run considerable risk of having your equipment stolen or vandalised. Many insurance companies now refuse to insure against theft of equipment that is stored overnight in a vehicle parked on the street.

Renting premises

You may well find that the only option is to find a suitable location to accommodate your business.

Clearly, there’s little benefit in renting an office that doesn’t have a yard and suitable secure dry storage for your equipment.

Ideally, you should try to find somewhere that:

• is as close to home as possible
• is as cheap as possible
• doesn’t involve entering into a long and tedious tenancy agreement
• has secure, dry storage for your tools.

Of course these are ideals and the reality may be somewhat different. But you owe it to yourself to search for the best possible property that you can get. This may mean renting a private garage via your local newspaper. It’s a start – and a far more cost-effective way of starting your business than having to enter into some vastly overpriced lease agreement with a shark landlord.

The best way of finding a suitable venue is to scan the small classified advertisements in your local papers. My advice would be that you simply look to rent secure storage space for your equipment and that you base your office at home. Trying to find premises that have both storage space and office space on a limited budget is virtually impossible.

So if you’re unable to locate the tools of your business at home, then you should aim to locate the administration side of your business at home, even if this means locating your business systems on some spare shelf and making do with the kitchen table when available. The savings are still worth it.

Wherever possible you must resist the temptation to spend money. One of the hidden dangers of any business, and certainly this is true of this one, is the tendency to imagine that in order to make a success of things you must first have all the outwards trappings of business success – the office or yard, the telephone answering service, the web site, state-of-the-art gardening tools. Trust me – you don’t need any of them. Certainly not to begin with. Remember my motto:

Are you going to employ staff?

Whether or not you’re going to employ staff depends very much on where you see your business going. If you’re planning to tackle large jobs then obviously you won’t be able to do it without hiring help of some kind.

Beware – becoming an employer brings with it some large, and some would say very onerous responsibilities. Employing a workforce, even one employee, too early in your business can lead to disaster.

My advice is that you steer clear of hiring staff for as long as you possibly can. I would even go as far as to say avoid it completely if you can. There are still ways of employing additional help for those times when you need it, without having to have employees.

Using associates

In my business I use a system of using a number of self-employed associates. This means that I can have a ‘workforce’ that can be readily called upon whenever the need arises, and dispensed with as soon as the crisis is over. This is the most cost-effective way of running any business.

At the end of the job my associates invoice me for their work, which is always a pre-agreed amount. Usually, they are paid shortly after I have received payment from my client, which means there is no negative impact on my cash flow.

This system has many advantages.

• You only pay for labour when you need it.
• You don’t have to pay sickness pay or holiday pay.
• You are not responsible for PAYE and National Insurance.
• Often the arrangement is reciprocal – they employ you as a self-employed person when their businesses need help.

I cannot stress the advantages of this arrangement strongly enough. You would do well to find someone who you can call upon on when needed and will work for you on a self-employed basis.

With regard to Employer’s Liability Insurance, you will have to cover them under your policy. Even though they will be acting in a self-employed capacity, they will be working under your direction, therefore you’re responsible for their insurance.

Coping with the day-to-day pressures of this business

While the rewards from this business are great, so too are the pressures, and how you cope with these will ultimately determine whether or not your business will succeed.

Generally, your time will be spent:

• Physically working on the various jobs you have in hand.
• In the evenings working out written estimates, returning phone calls and ensuring that your business is on the right track.

Case study – my business

My day begins early – usually 7am when I’m up checking my diary to make sure that:

• Everything I need for the day’s job is packed in the van.
• I have a list of all the people I need to phone that day and that their telephone numbers are included in my daily planner.
• Anything I need for the coming few days in the way of materials or stock has been ordered.

The easiest way to ensure that your business runs as smoothly and as stress-free as possible is to ensure that you have a system whereby you can forward-plan. Here’s an example from my diary.

Monday

Work

Hedge trimming and pruning job at Mrs Cassells. I’ve booked the full day for this work.

To-do – daytime list

I need to make all of these calls during the daytime as they largely involve contacting businesses that will be closed by the time I get home.

• 1.Order turfing for next week’s lawn job – (telephone number).
• 2.Phone Mr Madden and finalise a date for his pruning job.
• 3.Book additional help for next Wednesday’s turf-laying.
• 4.Check with builders’ suppliers that the paving slabs I ordered last week have arrived and are now available.
• 5.If they are, then phone Mrs Cottrell and book an appointment to come and lay them.

Evening list

• 1.Return any calls that I have been unable to make during the day and check the answerphone for new messages.
• 2.Complete Mr Harper’s estimate and phone to discuss it with him. Offer a provisional start date of the first week in June.

In addition to having a daily to-do list, I also have:

• weekly to-do list
• monthly to-do list.

Weekly to-do list

What’s included on this list varies depending on the time of the year and proximity to the month end. I include anything that I need to do during the week but that could be done on any day, for example checking my business account online, or devoting time to maintaining and cleaning tools.

Monthly to-do list

This list includes such things as:

• Formulating next month’s, or next season’s advertising campaign.
• Reviewing past month’s performance in terms of both sales achieved and the cost of sales (how much it cost the business to provide a service).
• Paying monthly accounts.
• Looking at new ways of developing the business.
• Filing and dealing with general administration.

As I said at the start of the chapter, I really do believe that is the greatest business in the world to run. It’s enormous fun. It’s relatively profitable and, in terms of satisfaction, nothing will ever beat the feeling you get when you close your client’s garden gate for the last time, look back and see that you really have made a difference!

Summary

• 1.Only purchase items as a part of a pre-planned, phased-in purchasing programme.
• 2.If you have to borrow money to start your business, only do so if this is going to be a short-term arrangement. Don’t tie yourself into costly, long-term bank loans.
• 3.To begin with run your business with the minimum of equipment and wherever possible avoid buying electric tools. Purchase tools that are capable of independent power sources. If you can’t afford a petrol hedge-trimmer use clipping shears.
• 4.Prepare a workable, achievable business plan for your first 12 months and monitor your progress on a monthly basis.
• 5.Expand your business from profits and not borrowings.
• 6.When calculating estimates, remember to detail all the costs associated with the job and allow yourself sufficient hours in which to complete whatever it is that’s being asked of you.
• 7.Where possible don’t post your written estimates, try to discuss them during your initial meeting with your client. If this is not possible, try phoning your client and discussing the job and how much it’s likely to cost with them before you send anything in writing.
• 8.Make sure that you always include an element of profit in everything you do. This is not being greedy, but sensible practice. You need money in your business to cover future essential expenditure such as replacement of your equipment, insurance cover etc.
• 9.If you’re constantly getting all the jobs you’ve quoted for – then your prices are too low. You should aim for a 70% closure rate. If you can achieve this you’re well on the road to success.
• 10.Make sure that you, your client and your business are adequately insured before you start trading. Your home and everything else is at risk if you don’t.
• 11.Planning is the key to success. You must be able to handle a number of projects all at the one time and still ensure that every one of your clients is made to feel special.
• 12.If you’re to make this type of business a success, you must enjoy running it. The general gardening business isn’t for everyone and, if it’s not for you, there are lots of alternative gardening businesses you can still run.