Behind the Bark
When you bid, you aren't just selling a price; you're also selling clarity and confidence.
The companies that win more jobs don’t always have the lowest price; they have the clearest proposal, the fastest reply, and the easiest next step for the customer.
Ask yourself: what makes a homeowner pick one crew over another? Is it the number on the estimate, or the feeling they get when they can actually picture the job done and know exactly what’s included?
Quick truth: Positioning your bid around clarity and speed will make you stand out, especially in a market full of generic, copy-paste estimates.
Limb of the Week
Audit your past bids and build a repeatable, fast proposal system.
How to do it (step-by-step):
Audit 8-12 recent bids (wins and losses). For each, answer three questions: what did the proposal look like (photos? scope?), how fast did you respond, and what was the customer’s stated concern? Track the wins and losses side-by-side.
Pull out patterns. Did jobs you won include photos, a clear scope, or a highlighted ‘what’s included/what’s not’? Did quick responses correlate with higher close rates? Use those patterns to decide what to keep.
Build a one-page visual proposal template: job photo(s), 3-5 bullet points of scope (remove jargon), a highlighted “what makes us different” section, and a clear next step (call, scheduled inspection, or click-to-pay deposit). Make this the default file you send.
Implement a 5-minute lead response SOP (or have us build one for you): immediate auto-text acknowledging the lead, followed by a short personalized message within five minutes that sets the next step (inspection time window or a promise to follow up). Don’t leave prospects wondering.
Questions to ask while you audit: Which bids won and why? Which lost and why? Can any successful elements be transferred to every future proposal?
Sawdust
Tools and quick fixes to try today:
Convert your audit findings into a single proposal template you can fill in on your phone.
Text script for instant replies: “Hi [Name], this is [Your Name] with [Company]. We got your request. I’ll take a quick look and call you in 20 min to set up the inspection/estimate. In the meantime, can you send a photo of the stump/tree?”
Photo habit: when you finish a job, take 3 clean photos (before, during, after). Tag them by service type for future proposals.
Small daily discipline: have one person (owner or dispatcher) own the 5-minute response window. Don’t make it optional.
Kickback
Rant: Stop sending arm’s-length estimates. A price alone is lazy selling. If your proposal doesn’t help the homeowner picture the job or understand why you’re different, you’ve handed the sale to the lowest bid.
If you keep emailing plain numbers and hoping customers will “call if interested,” you’re outsourcing the close to someone else’s follow-up. That’s how good leads become bad jobs.
Your Competitors Aren’t Better. They’re Just Showing Up Stronger.
Most tree services lose jobs long before they ever pick up the phone.
It’s not your crews - it’s how you look online.
We’ll dig through your presence, your ads, and your reviews to show you exactly how to flip the script on cheaper competitors.
$100 gets you the truth, backed by data.
If it’s not worth 10× that, we’ll refund you.
Because the best tree company doesn’t always win - the best marketed one does.
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Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media
