Transcript
A (0:00)
It's only $320. That's what he said to me. And I looked him straight in the eye and said, you're right, it's only $320. And that was the moment the entire job changed.
B (0:12)
Today's episode is brought to you by Yardbook, the All in one CRM for your lawn care business. And as an exclusive partner of this podcast, you can get started today and begin simplifying your business and maximizing your profits. Sign up now@yardbook.com the link is in the show notes. Time now for Profits with Paycheck, an essential podcast for you in the green industry who are looking to unlock the full potential of your business. Hosted by John Pajac, your certified financial coach, the show features in depth discussions with successful entrepreneurs, thought leaders and industry experts. Providing practical advice and proven strategies on financial planning, operations, marketing and sales. Profits with Paycheck has valuable insights and action steps that you can implement today for creating long term success. Now here's John Pajak.
A (1:17)
Welcome to Profits with Pajak, the podcast where we talk about business strategies and financial insights for the green industry. I'm your host, John Pajak and today I want to walk you through a situation that just happened to me out in the field. And it's one of those moments where you're standing on a property, everything looks like it should be a yes, but then it turns into a test. A test of your pricing, a test of your confidence and honestly, a test of who you are as a business owner. Because this customer wanted exactly what I do best. He just didn't want to pay my price to get it. Now here's the thing. I get a call for a full turf renovation and we're talking about a full reset. We're going to kill everything off. We're going to till the soil, we're going to go ahead and, you know, build the seed bed. You know, we're going to use a Harley rake and level everything. You know, put the right pitch in the ground. This thing is going to be nicely smooth. We're going to install new seed and we're also going to follow up with one of our long term lawn care programs. And this is not a small job. This is not a throw some seed down and hope for the best. This is a full transformation. Now here's what made this one interesting. You know, this guy was not guessing. He had already seen my work. In fact, you know, several of my clients live in his neighborhood and one that lives just a couple houses down from him, like across the Street. I had already done a full renovation for that neighbor about two, two. Two or three. Two years ago. Two years ago. This is year three now. And now that we're going into year three, that lawn is really starting to look good. I mean, it's really like this spring. I'm just surprised how well it is taking on. It's really thick, it's healthy, it's clean. It only has the grass that I planted in it. So that alone gives it a. There's a separation between a lot of the other lawns that are in the neighborhood, you know, because they have a lot of native grasses that kind of popped in when the contractors planted the stuff, you know, after the house was built and everything. So, I mean, this really does stand out. It's a great looking lawn. And this is exactly what that guy wanted, you know, so he calls me out, I walk the property and we're talking through everything and I'm thinking, all right, you know, this is going to be a slam dunk. You know, he knows the results, he trusts the process. You know, I explain it all to him and he's like, yeah, yeah, you know, I saw stuff online and you know, all these other people, you know, that I see, they're basically saying the same thing you are. And I'm like, yeah, you know, and, you know, basically he's seen the proof. Like, we're literally, you know, walking by the neighbor's house and I'm showing him some things, pointing things out that we did, and he's like, yeah, I love it, I love it, I love it. So, you know, you're thinking, you know, what could go wrong? But then, then it starts, you know, he says, yeah, you know, I've got a couple other estimates. And I think you could, you know already where this might be going. And, you know, they're a little bit cheaper. And so I ask a few questions and it comes down to this. You know, it's basically about the one company that he feels might be my competition. It was about $320 less than my bid. And that's it. Now think about that. Not thousands. It's not a massive Gap. It's $320, you know, and he keeps circling back to that, you know, and he keeps going, is there anything, any way we could bring it down a little? Can we get closer to their number? Is there anything we could take out? You know, And I'm like, and this is where most guys get really uncomfortable because, you know, $320 doesn't really feel like A big deal. It's easy to start thinking, well, maybe, maybe I could just knock a little off, or maybe I could meet him halfway, or maybe I could tweak something just to get the job. But, you know, here's what's really happening. In that moment, you're being invited to negotiate against yourself. And you know, when you think, you know, that's. I'm going to say that again. You're being invited to negotiate against yourself. And here's the thing. Then he says, it's only $320. And I paused for a second because that statement could go two ways. Most people hear that and think, yeah, it's only 320, maybe I should just give it to them. But I flipped it. I said, you're right, it's only $320. And then I pointed across the street. I said, you see that loan over there? You've been looking at it for two years. You told me yourself how much you love how it looks. You know, I did that. And if that's what you want, this is what it costs. I didn't defend my price. I didn't break down my cost. I didn't start justifying anything. I anchored everything to the result because that's what he was actually buying. Now this is where it gets even more interesting. He starts bringing things up. He saw online, you know, different grass types, different methods, and he's like, oh, hey, you know, I saw this guy recommend this and I had to stop him. I said, you know, listen, that grass may grow in our region, but it's not really going to thrive here. And that's a big difference because now we're not just talking about price anymore. We're talking about experience versus, like, you know, Internet advice. We're talking about local knowledge versus just general information and proven results versus theory. And this is where you have to stand firm. Because if you give in here, you're not just discounting your price, you're compromising the outcome. And if the outcome suffers, guess whose name's attached to it. It's yours, right? So to clarify things, I'm not, you know, I. I generally tell people, I'm like, if you want a turf tamer lawn, then this is if that's what you like. You see it. You could see it in your neighbors. You could see it. You know, a lot of times people are driving down the road and they go, man, that's a good looking lawn. Guess who signs in it? Mine. Like, if you want a turf tamer lawn, then allow me to do what I do. But before we go any further, a quick reminder. If you're struggling with pricing confidence or knowing exactly what your numbers should be, this is exactly why I created Budgets, breakevens and Bottom Lines. Because when you know your numbers, these conversations get a whole lot easier.