Loading…
25
Realized I was pricing my landscaping jobs all wrong after a client laughed at my quote
So I had this guy call me up to redo his whole backyard, nice house in Tustin. I quoted him $3,200 for labor and materials, thought I was being generous. He literally laughed and said "you're leaving money on the table, man." Told me his last guy charged $5,500 for half the work and he was happy to pay it. That's when it hit me - I was so scared of being too expensive I was underselling myself for years. Has anyone else had that moment where a client basically told you your prices were too low?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
claire_davis312mo ago
God yeah I had this happen once with a fence job. This older lady in Anaheim wanted a new privacy fence and I quoted her something like $2,800 and she just stared at me and said "are you sure honey because my neighbor just paid $4,000 for a shorter one." I thought she was messing with me at first but she was totally serious. Ended up charging her $3,500 and she paid it no problem, even tipped me $100 after. Made me realize I was basically racing to the bottom for no reason. Now I just ask people what they've been quoted before and price myself right in the middle of the range they give me.
6
the_jamie2mo ago
Realizing you were underpricing because you thought that's just how it worked (not because of any actual cost analysis) is such a weird gut punch. It's like you find out the "market rate" you've been using in your head is just your own made up number. Kinda makes you wonder how many other people are out there doing the same thing, just assuming everyone else is barely scraping by too. And then you bump it up and the customer doesn't even blink, they just hand you the money. Wild how much of business is just psyching yourself out.
1
paulw532mo ago
Holy crap, a hundred dollar tip on top of the extra money? That's insane. I guess people really do just want you to charge a fair price.
5