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“This unfortunately is the case in a bad economy,” says Ben Collinsworth, CEO of Texas-based Native Land Design. “Many of our retail centers and professional office complexes have been forced to cut operating expenses at all costs. With regret, some of our clients were getting lower offers from some of our competitors, and couldn’t resist the temptation to go with the lowest bidders.”

More clients are demanding that you lower or at least maintain their current prices, but still provide quality service. “This is especially true in the commercial bidding market,” says Bill Horn of Terracare Associates in Martinez, CA. Horn, a landscape industry certified professional, says that if you draw a line in the sand and say, “this is our price and we will not go lower,” you’ll probably get left behind. You have to adjust to the market.

Cut Costs, Not Corners

Find ways to cut costs so you can hold prices in line without watching your margins erode too severely. By reducing their own costs and lowering prices where possible, Native Land Design has been able to hang onto most of its customers. “I strongly believe that we know our cost structure and manage our expenses with the best of them,” Collinsworth says. Native Land Design has offices in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and McAllen.

Get more productive in the field. Horn says his company is evaluating crew performance on each and every jobsite—from the time employees jump out of the truck until they jump back in.

“Don’t let your crews fall into ruts,” Horn says. “One guy grabs this while the other grabs that, and off they go, whether the property needs it or not. That’s not good enough anymore. We’re altering schedules and identifying what clients want done month to month, week to week—then using our personnel in the right places.”

Employees with less experience could do the mowing, for example. Horn says it’s often the guy with the most seniority who operates the zero-turn. But it should be the other way around. “The lesser-experienced employee should do the mowing so the foreman can spend his time touring around the property doing detail work, identifying what else needs to be done,” Horn suggests. (Note: Ensure that employees receive proper mower operation training.)

Smaller crews have helped many contractors improve productivity. “We stick with two- or three-man crews,” Horn shares. Bigger crews can result in higher levels of lost time due to confusion and reduced personal accountability. Small crews, on the other hand, must find a way to be super-efficient.

If it doesn’t add value for the customer, see if you can eliminate it. Take a look at every single aspect of how you conduct business, Horn advises, from the time you open the doors in the morning until you and your crews go home at night. “If we’re doing things that don’t add value for our clients, we’re seeking to eliminate them,” he relates.

Don’t Assume Anything

Treat each bid situation and/or client as if it were the only one you’ve ever had. Just because you’ve always done something a certain way does not mean you need to continue doing it that way—especially if a given client doesn’t care.

Find out exactly what the client wants. If you include something in your proposal that the client doesn’t really want, your prices are probably going to exceed what the client is looking to spend.