Phil Nilsson
03-25-2006, 08:27 AM
Nilsson Associates Toll Free 866-280-2252
www.nilssonbooks.com (http://nilssonbooks.com/)
Lawn Care Services, Landscapers, Irrigation, Hardscapers
Planning A Price Increase for 2006?
As a lawn care or landscape business owner do you expect to raise prices in the coming year? Will it be across the board or isolated just to certain line item services such as mowing, pruning, trimming, cleanups, plowing or installs? Before you raise prices consider the impact on your customers and align raise in prices with your cost of doing business, present profit margin and need.
The inflation rate is a helpful indicator in determining if and when and by how much you can increase your prices on the services and products you sell. Of course you'll have to consider if your competition will also raise prices. You wouldn't want to price yourself out of the market, nor fall behind in pricing where later on you find yourself losing money and forced to " sticker shock" your customers with a steep rise in prices. You might be better off slowly increasing your prices modestly over time.
The current inflation rate is about 4% and useful for determining price increases. In the lawn care service and landscaping industry that I'm involved with, heavy competition in some landscape and lawn service markets have actually depressed prices for many services like mowing, pruning, walls, hardscapes, grounds maintenance, cleanups and many lawn care chemical programs as well.
When you increase your prices by the amount or rate of inflation, for example you mow a lawn for let's say $30 and you see that the inflation rate is 4% so you assume a new price of about $31. This accounts for a rise due to costs of delivering the services overall going up but check your actual costs because certain industries like lawn mowing, plants & trees installation, snow plowing, grounds maintenance contracts whether residential or commercial may have had costs go up higher than the national average or rate of inflation. An example is the big rise in fuel prices where in the landscape industry fuel is a big part of the cost of operations.
In addition to taking a careful look at the rate of inflation, check your company records, financial statements and cost runoffs to verify your current actual costs. How much have they increased? Use these figures after carefully proving them for accuracy before considering a price increase. Use your best judgment as to whether or not you can actually impose and increase, by what amount, and when. What impact will a price increase have on your ability to attract new customers and keep the ones you have?
Before increasing prices you should also check to see if your competition has or will increase their prices. Try to determine how much of an increase they plan on and when they plan on announcing the rise. Timing is crucial especially in seasonal businesses such as landscape services, and lawncare programs, and monthly grounds fees where if you were to raise prices let's say a week or two before spring and your competition did not ... you might find yourself having less customers not so much due to an intended price increase but simply because the increase wasn't timed right.
More details on this subject (CLICK HERE) (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
Business solution links:
Advertising (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Bidding Jobs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) - (http://www.asharpdesign.com/nilsson/discounts_and_deals.htm)
Business Growth (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Business Plan (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Business Planning Workbook) -
Commercial (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Company Policy (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Writing Your Company Policy Manual) -
Contract Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) -
Customers (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Employees (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) -
Estimating (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) -
Job Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Job Specs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Writing The Maintenance Speci-fications) -
Labor Time Data (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Maintenance (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Grounds Maintenance Manual) -
Management (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Mowing Profits (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Maximizing Profits In Mowing) -
Pricing (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Pricing Your Services) - Sales (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Sales Letters (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#How To Write Effective Sales Letters) -
Sales Skills (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Snow Removal (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#The Snow Removal Business) -
Subcontracting (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm#Subcontracting the Work) -
Training Video (http://nilssonbooks.com/video_tapes.htm) -
Website Services (http://nilssonbooks.com/other_services.htm#Web Design) -
Winter Income (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm)
Other
resources:
Sales Boosters (http://nilssonbooks.com/sales_booster_package.htm)
Job Estimating Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm)
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
New Business Startup Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/just_getting_started.htm)
Complete Operations management System (http://nilssonbooks.com/coms_package.htm)
Nilsson's Job Estimating System (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) has everything you need to evaluate job site specifications & work required, figure costs, how to price ~ lawns, grounds maintenance, landscape installs. You'll get step - by - step instructions, bid proposal outlines & customer contracts, labor hours job times. You'll get job price guides to compare your prices with the going rates, overhead costs, materials, profit ratios. You'll set realistic prices, and job labor hours goals based on field tested, proven, time studied labor hours for every job you bid. You'll know how to evaluate every job for total work hours required, the price to charge for the job, the profit you'll make, best crew size, job costs. You'll also get add-on service check lists to help you maximize sales by upselling customers on additional property improvements.
When it comes to pricing lawn and landscape jobs nobody has more industry pricing information than Nilsson Associates. Nilsson's Job Price Guides covers lawn care job bidding & estimating landscaping job bids for commercial & residential customers. Get more customers. Price estimates & bids, grounds services, landscaping pricing estimates , estimating & bid the price seasonal work, year around commercial estimate contracts, best price per square foot, best grounds maintenance & landscaping job to bid & pricing, price of lawn care, lawn mowing price, aeration pricing, lawns, commercial landscape job bid estimates, maintenance estimating & pricing, mulching prices, pricing chemicals, weeding & aerating pricing, fertilizer prices, prices for organic fertilizer, pricing weeds in beds, pricing pruning & trimming trees & shrubs, pricing commercial & residential snow plowing, hardscape pricing, pricing hydroseeding, irrigation service estimates for commercial & residential, pricing seeding lawns, pricing lawn sod, prices for slit seeding lawns, pricing edging lawn beds, spring cleanup prices, pricing fall cleanups, hourly price of pressure washing walks & patios, pricing trees, stump grinding prices, price for gutter cleaning, lawn dethatching price, price for shoveling snow, pricing salting, price sanding.
For more information about Pricing Click Here for FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
Click here for: Labor Time Data Handbook (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#)
www.nilssonbooks.com (http://nilssonbooks.com/)
Lawn Care Services, Landscapers, Irrigation, Hardscapers
Planning A Price Increase for 2006?
As a lawn care or landscape business owner do you expect to raise prices in the coming year? Will it be across the board or isolated just to certain line item services such as mowing, pruning, trimming, cleanups, plowing or installs? Before you raise prices consider the impact on your customers and align raise in prices with your cost of doing business, present profit margin and need.
The inflation rate is a helpful indicator in determining if and when and by how much you can increase your prices on the services and products you sell. Of course you'll have to consider if your competition will also raise prices. You wouldn't want to price yourself out of the market, nor fall behind in pricing where later on you find yourself losing money and forced to " sticker shock" your customers with a steep rise in prices. You might be better off slowly increasing your prices modestly over time.
The current inflation rate is about 4% and useful for determining price increases. In the lawn care service and landscaping industry that I'm involved with, heavy competition in some landscape and lawn service markets have actually depressed prices for many services like mowing, pruning, walls, hardscapes, grounds maintenance, cleanups and many lawn care chemical programs as well.
When you increase your prices by the amount or rate of inflation, for example you mow a lawn for let's say $30 and you see that the inflation rate is 4% so you assume a new price of about $31. This accounts for a rise due to costs of delivering the services overall going up but check your actual costs because certain industries like lawn mowing, plants & trees installation, snow plowing, grounds maintenance contracts whether residential or commercial may have had costs go up higher than the national average or rate of inflation. An example is the big rise in fuel prices where in the landscape industry fuel is a big part of the cost of operations.
In addition to taking a careful look at the rate of inflation, check your company records, financial statements and cost runoffs to verify your current actual costs. How much have they increased? Use these figures after carefully proving them for accuracy before considering a price increase. Use your best judgment as to whether or not you can actually impose and increase, by what amount, and when. What impact will a price increase have on your ability to attract new customers and keep the ones you have?
Before increasing prices you should also check to see if your competition has or will increase their prices. Try to determine how much of an increase they plan on and when they plan on announcing the rise. Timing is crucial especially in seasonal businesses such as landscape services, and lawncare programs, and monthly grounds fees where if you were to raise prices let's say a week or two before spring and your competition did not ... you might find yourself having less customers not so much due to an intended price increase but simply because the increase wasn't timed right.
More details on this subject (CLICK HERE) (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
Business solution links:
Advertising (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Bidding Jobs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) - (http://www.asharpdesign.com/nilsson/discounts_and_deals.htm)
Business Growth (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Business Plan (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Business Planning Workbook) -
Commercial (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Company Policy (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Writing Your Company Policy Manual) -
Contract Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) -
Customers (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Employees (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) -
Estimating (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) -
Job Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Job Specs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Writing The Maintenance Speci-fications) -
Labor Time Data (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Maintenance (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Grounds Maintenance Manual) -
Management (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Mowing Profits (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Maximizing Profits In Mowing) -
Pricing (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Pricing Your Services) - Sales (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Sales Letters (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#How To Write Effective Sales Letters) -
Sales Skills (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Snow Removal (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#The Snow Removal Business) -
Subcontracting (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm#Subcontracting the Work) -
Training Video (http://nilssonbooks.com/video_tapes.htm) -
Website Services (http://nilssonbooks.com/other_services.htm#Web Design) -
Winter Income (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm)
Other
resources:
Sales Boosters (http://nilssonbooks.com/sales_booster_package.htm)
Job Estimating Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm)
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
New Business Startup Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/just_getting_started.htm)
Complete Operations management System (http://nilssonbooks.com/coms_package.htm)
Nilsson's Job Estimating System (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) has everything you need to evaluate job site specifications & work required, figure costs, how to price ~ lawns, grounds maintenance, landscape installs. You'll get step - by - step instructions, bid proposal outlines & customer contracts, labor hours job times. You'll get job price guides to compare your prices with the going rates, overhead costs, materials, profit ratios. You'll set realistic prices, and job labor hours goals based on field tested, proven, time studied labor hours for every job you bid. You'll know how to evaluate every job for total work hours required, the price to charge for the job, the profit you'll make, best crew size, job costs. You'll also get add-on service check lists to help you maximize sales by upselling customers on additional property improvements.
When it comes to pricing lawn and landscape jobs nobody has more industry pricing information than Nilsson Associates. Nilsson's Job Price Guides covers lawn care job bidding & estimating landscaping job bids for commercial & residential customers. Get more customers. Price estimates & bids, grounds services, landscaping pricing estimates , estimating & bid the price seasonal work, year around commercial estimate contracts, best price per square foot, best grounds maintenance & landscaping job to bid & pricing, price of lawn care, lawn mowing price, aeration pricing, lawns, commercial landscape job bid estimates, maintenance estimating & pricing, mulching prices, pricing chemicals, weeding & aerating pricing, fertilizer prices, prices for organic fertilizer, pricing weeds in beds, pricing pruning & trimming trees & shrubs, pricing commercial & residential snow plowing, hardscape pricing, pricing hydroseeding, irrigation service estimates for commercial & residential, pricing seeding lawns, pricing lawn sod, prices for slit seeding lawns, pricing edging lawn beds, spring cleanup prices, pricing fall cleanups, hourly price of pressure washing walks & patios, pricing trees, stump grinding prices, price for gutter cleaning, lawn dethatching price, price for shoveling snow, pricing salting, price sanding.
For more information about Pricing Click Here for FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
Click here for: Labor Time Data Handbook (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#)