TreeBossPro Blog — Estimates & Quotes

Good, Better, Best: Offering Options on Tree Service Estimates

A single-price estimate asks the customer one question: yes or no. If the answer is no, the conversation is over, and often the customer goes with someone else. An estimate with options asks a different question: which of these do you want? That small change keeps you in the running far more often, and it frequently leads to a larger job than you would have quoted otherwise.

Why Options Work

Last time, in Stump Grinding on Tree Quotes: Add-On Line Items That Get Approved, we saw how a stump grinding add-on gives the customer an easy extra yes. Good, better, best takes that idea and applies it to the whole estimate.

Customers like control. When they get three quotes and each one is a single number, they compare the numbers. When your quote shows a basic option, a recommended option and a complete option, they start comparing your options to each other, and the competitor's single number becomes just one more data point.

Options also reveal what the customer actually cares about. Some will pay more to have every chip and sawdust pile gone. Others care only about getting the tree off the house and are happy to keep the wood. Without options you have to guess, and a wrong guess either loses the job or leaves money on the table.

Building Options for a Removal

A removal lends itself well to tiers:

• Good: remove the tree, chip brush, leave logs in rounds on site.
• Better: remove the tree, haul all wood and brush, rake and blow the site.
• Best: everything in better, plus grind the stump below grade and handle grindings.

Each tier is clear, and each one is a real job your crew can deliver. The customer picks the one that fits their budget and their plans for the yard.

Write each tier so it stands on its own. The customer should not have to subtract one option from another to understand what they get. Repeat the core work in each tier and make the differences obvious in the descriptions.

Building Options for Trimming

Trimming tiers often work by scope instead of cleanup. A basic option might cover crown cleaning on the two trees over the house. A recommended option adds raising over the driveway and clearance off the roof. A complete option covers every tree on the property.

This works especially well on properties with many trees, where the customer may not be ready to do everything at once. Showing the full scope also plants the idea that the rest of the trees need attention, which brings them back for the next round.

Keeping Options Honest

Options only work if each one is something you would be proud to deliver. Do not create a cheap tier that you know will disappoint, just to make the others look better. If the basic option leaves a hazard in place, say so plainly, or do not offer it.

Be careful with safety-related recommendations. If a tree is a genuine hazard, the estimate should say that clearly rather than burying it as an optional upgrade. Where local rules or permits apply to a removal, those vary by state and city, so check them before you put any option on paper.

Presenting Options Clearly

Use line items for each piece of work and make it obvious which lines belong to which option. Give each option a short name and a one-line description of what the customer gets. Put the recommended option in the middle and say why you recommend it.

Keep the number of options small. Three is usually plenty. More than that and customers stall, unable to decide, which is the opposite of what you want. If a job truly has many independent pieces, use optional add-on lines instead of extra tiers.

TreeBossPro estimates go out with online approval, so the customer can review the lines and approve the work they want without a phone call. If they go quiet, automatic follow-up sends reminders on your behalf. When they approve, you can see exactly what was chosen.

From Choice to Job

Once the customer approves, the chosen work becomes a job on the job board in the right category, whether Removals, Trimming and Pruning or Stump Grinding. If the best option includes stump grinding as a separate visit, schedule it under Stump Grinding so the grinder crew sees it on their route.

Over time, check your reports to see which options customers pick most often. If almost everyone picks the middle tier, your pricing is probably balanced. If almost everyone picks the cheapest, look at whether the gap between tiers is too wide. To see how option-based estimates move through the rest of the system, visit the tree estimating software page.