When Competitors Race to the Bottom: How you Can Push Back—Without Slashing Prices

We are feeling it as well. Mostly from inexperienced "one man show" companies with much lower overhead and not a lot of knowledge on pricing. Right now we are trying to hold the line. We've made a very lien budget, cancelled some spending here and there and I really hope things will change.... 

Yea im in the same boat here. I have set prices on things but find myself constantly quoting lower than what I initially have set. Idk if it's just me feeling like im coming off greedy (even tho my prices are where the market is at in my area) or don't wanna risk losing the bid. 

We also are faced with the same situation, although I was recently advised by a business executive, that great work should not be negotiated. Being patient and waiting for those customers that now the value of great service, soon the one man show, low quote individuals will be faced with call backs and loss. We have to keep charging for the work we provide, the overall experience and not what our competitors set for us. 

Try to have personal relationships with the decision makers by attending local chamber events.  Then when you get an opportunity be sure to provide the white glove experience: answer texts call within moments, anticipate what they may ask / need and provide it ahead of time.  Show value by offering the best customer service.  Personally, I will pay a little more if I know that when I need someone they will pick up the phone.  

In my industry, I’m seeing folks jumping in thinking it’s a get rich quick gig. I’m still a small fish comparing myself to larger companies and only in business just under two years. I’ve seen a good amount of these low ballers already close shop. I try to connect with any owners in my area and hope to educate the low ballers. 

The only thing we can all do is keep on moving forward and be strategic with spending etc. They won’t last. 

Just some advice for everyone. What I like to do is "onboard" the client to us. So what that means is even before we have got the approval for the job I will add them to Jobber and use the scheduled assessment feature. This gets the client receiving the email and text notifications that you are booking this and coming. It's showing them how organized you are and that you have systems. 

I also like to have a Zapier trigger that sends a client guide out to each client and the trigger is when I add them to Jobber. So they are getting a beautiful client guide sent at that point with pictures and reviews and info on our systems and how we do things. 

These kinds of things are just extra sales touch points and set you aside from the smaller less organized cheap companies. 

Here are a few examples: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kwn7Ao38FdcigYG6xao-nOpFxzrpCkgC/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fApH6No_JbxHFB9a7ITLe13aL3qEHdHI/view?usp=sharing

I make these for people if you would like this done for your company just reach out. We can build this and then I'll automate it for you as well. 

Cheers. 

We have been in the same boat.  I have lost some jobs due to my quote/costs being higher than a competitor.  However, I sell myself and the quality of my work.  Many times, I will get a call back months later asking me to come and do the work for them.  As it turns out, the cheapest guy was not necessarily the best person for the job.  Quality work and customer services nearly always win.

One of the biggest challenges I face is that most people around here don’t really know what quality tree care looks like. A lot of companies have been topping trees for years, working without insurance, and calling themselves arborists when they’re not. It’s normalized bad practices.

I’ve had customers shocked my price wasn’t higher, and then I find out what the other company was actually offering — it was completely wrong for the tree. Others say my price is too high, but they don’t realize the “cheaper” company has no insurance or proper training.

I do my best to educate people during estimates and conversations, but it’s tough when the whole region has been used to poor standards for so long. I’d love to find better ways to raise awareness and show folks what real, professional tree care looks 

We, too, have see that in our area. We've decided to also hold the line. If we have time and a chance to build relationship with a client we add value. We share how long we've been in the industry, that we have a handful of techs so we're guaranteed to be on time and get the job done quickly, we even show the pricing of the parts to show we fairly but adequately charge and why. We've found just being knowledgeable with good standing history has kept many clients and they will pay for that added value.

One of the smartest branding decisions we ever made was this: “Good work isn’t cheap, and cheap work isn’t good.”

Instead of trying to undercut the guy charging half our rate, we focused on what truly sets us apart—value. Things like being fully insured, delivering top-tier customer service, actually answering the phone, and doing exactly what we say we’ll do.

Eventually, most customers get burned by the cheapest option—the flaky one-man show who no-shows or leaves a job half-done. That’s when they start looking for real pros.

Be the business they find.
Earn excellent reviews. Keep your word—every time. Treat your staff like gold so they treat your customers even better.

Compete on professionalism, not price. That’s where the long-term wins are.