Respectfully — you don’t have a sales problem. You’ve got a margin problem.
That truck, that chipper, those motors — that’s not just bad luck. That’s the business testing if your numbers can take a hit. And most guys don’t find out until it’s too late.
1. Raise your overhead and markup — period.
You have to price today’s jobs to cover yesterday’s damage. That’s what real businesses do.
If you’re not marking up materials at least 20–30%, start now.
Your hourly rates need to absorb downtime, breakdowns, and admin — not just labor.
You’re not a laborer. You’re a business owner. Charge like it.
2. You can’t out-sell broken pricing.
It doesn’t matter if you book 20 jobs — if your margin’s trash, the pressure just builds.
Rebuild your price book.
Every job should cover:
Materials (with markup)
Labor (at a profitable hourly rate)
Overhead (equipment, insurance, downtime)
Profit (yes, that’s a separate line)
If you’re pricing emotionally instead of mathematically, that’s the first fix.
3. Sales volume comes from systems, not just effort.
You said you’ve tried everything — I believe you.
But now it’s time to shift to repeatable systems:
Follow-up tracker. Every estimate gets 3 follow-ups minimum.
Maintenance or inspection offer to past clients.
Call every builder or GC you’ve ever worked with. Let them know you’ve got openings.
Offer a referral incentive that makes people want to help — not just a “spread the word.”
Bottom line:
Your income didn’t dip by accident.
It’s the result of pricing that wasn’t built for adversity.