Behind the Bark
A homeowner calls you for a quote on a 70-foot dead oak leaning over the house.
Tight yard. Fence. Roofline. Power drop.
You walk it. You build a plan. You price it right. $6,200.
Then another guy throws out a number with one less digit.
You lose it and tell yourself you lost on price.
Most of the time, you lost on contrast.
Because your estimate looks like his estimate.
A single line that says “Tree Removal” with a number.
On paper, you look identical.
And when the homeowner can’t see the difference, they can’t pay for it.
He isn’t competing with your skill.
He’s competing with the homeowner’s ability to tell the difference.
Limb of the Week
The Visual Proof Strategy
Stop sending receipts.
Send a plan.
On hazardous removals, you’re not selling “cutting.”
You’re selling control and the transfer of risk.
The homeowner needs to understand, in 10 seconds, that this job has targets and consequences.
Use this structure on any removal where damage risk exists:
1) Name the targets (what you’re protecting)
List what’s at risk:
Roof edge
Fence line
Driveway
Flower beds/landscaping
AC unit
Power drop / service line
Septic / drain field
This gives your price context.
A one-line quote forces the homeowner to guess.
And people guess wrong.
2) Show the drop zone (how you’re controlling the fall)
Include one photo of the yard with a marked landing area.
Then add one sentence:
“We lower everything into a designated drop zone. Nothing free-falls.”
That sentence is worth thousands because it separates you from “cut and pray.”
3) Put cleanup in writing (what they’re secretly worried about)
Homeowners fear the mess. They just don’t say it out loud.
Write it:
Rake, blow, haul
No brush left behind
No debris in beds
Final walk-through before we leave
Cheap quotes often “win” because they omit reality.
4) Add a 3-line credibility box (why you’re not the same company)
Don’t write a paragraph. Write three facts.
Example:
Licensed & insured (limits listed)
Rigging + controlled dismantle for tight targets
Crew + equipment sized for hazard work (not weekend work)
That’s not bragging.
That’s proof you’re a different category.
Sawdust
Last issue, we talked about the scoreboard:
Cost per job = cost per lead ÷ close rate.
Most guys try to “solve” that by buying more leads.
But if your estimates look like everyone else’s, you’ll keep paying for leads you can’t close.
Quick math:
If you bid 10 hazardous removals a month and close 3, that’s a 30% close rate.
If a proof-style estimate moves you to 5, you just increased removal revenue 66% without buying a single extra lead.
Same leads.
Different paper.
Different outcome.
Most owners don’t lose to the cheap guy.
They lose to the homeowner’s guess because the estimate gives the homeowner nothing solid to hold on to.
A one-line estimate turns skilled work into a commodity.
If you want to win big removals without arguing about price, stop trying to explain your value.
Make it visible.
Kickback
The dangerous part isn’t the cheap quote.
It’s that your paperwork makes you look like it.
Owners keep making calm decisions based on incomplete proof…
Then act shocked when the market treats them like a commodity.
Fix the paper. The work already holds up.
If you want a quick outside set of eyes:
Reply PAPER and send one hazardous removal estimate you’ve used (PDF or screenshot).
I’ll mark up 3 spots that make you look identical to the cheap guy, and what to swap in instead.
No pitch. Just contrast.
How did you like today's issue?
Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media
