[Nebraska]

Who out there is sucessful in charging a 'consultation' fee for prospects seeking your services.

There's a growing trend in our area whereby people are charging for landscape designs....fee's paid are credited toward any work done. I've tried on two occasions this fall and it scared both landscape prospects away. Good result or bad result?? I'm thinking it might have been a desirable scare.

On a related issue I charged a prospect $50 today to come out and consult with them regarding issues concerning their lawn plus and additional $45 for a soil test. The initial conversation on Monday was the perfect scenerio where the prospect immediately alluded to their respect for our time and the value associated with it. Maybe it was my mood at the moment but I couldn't resist the immediate opportunity to add another income account to Quickbooks!

This was a first for me.

Is this just another step in the evolution of the business or am I stumbling upon something?

[Paul]

We do some consulting on retaining walls and on some of the newer erosion control TRM's. Yes it's nice to add another income item to quickbooks but most times we are up selling products that will do better job than what was speced.

[ianc]

I charge $40 for the first 1/2 hr and the $40.00 per hour for the initial consult, at that time I can determine the cost to develop a landscape plan, 90% of the people that phone from advertising, yellow pages hang up after I mention the consult fee, All the referral jobs are okay with it, because the prior customers gave them a warning and they call prepared to pay.

Most people ask what they will receive in the consult; I say simple sketches and dialog on the landscape referencing my knowledge on hard and softscape and enlightenment on the cost of landscape features. And if they feel confident in my suggestions I can quote the landscape design cost.

If it is a unique job and the client process was smooth thru the design stage, I ask to quote the job for the construction.

I keep the plan fee separate from the build quote, And I do not REFUND THE DESIGN FEE if I get the contracting, Been doing this for 6 years now and have been thru the bumps n grinds to get a workable solution

[jwholden]

I started charging a $100 fee to design a landscape this year. I thought this would help screen out the tire kickers but frankly I'm not sure it's enough. I interview prospects on the phone but I'll meet with most leads for fear of letting a good one get away. I mention when we talk on the phone that a design fee is charged.

Three things will happen with the design fee when I meet them face to face:

(1) They say go ahead and work up a design and I'll call them in 2-3 weeks when I have something for them. This usually involves a visit back when they are not around to measure, take pictures (digital), and get a 'feel' for the site.

(2) They say they have to check with the husband or wife and I'll get a call in a few days, or none at all, saying they can't afford the job. Hey, I just saved myself from working up a design for free from an uninterested buyer.

(3) They are eager to have me go ahead and give a design because they are so happy I actually came out and say go ahead. However, I get a call in one to three days saying that they decided to hire someone else or whatever. Again, I just saved myself from working up a design for free from an uninterested buyer.

If I'm doing work for a client I've dealt with long term I don't worry about the design fee. I know I'll get the job.

I would like to say that my systems are constantly changing and this is not the way things will always be. I suspect I can be more efficient with my time and screening of clients through use of the design fee. The fee may go up and may be an additional charge not credited to the landscape.

Hope that helps!

[Stonehenge]

JW - Do you always make two visits to get to the point where you have the measurements and photos needed to work up a design?

I try to always do both in the first appointment. When we've reached a point where I understand what they're after, I give them my portfolio and a book of brochures and pictures and send them back in the house to look them over, later telling me what things they liked and disliked. It's during that time that I take my pics and measurements. Might save you a trip.

[jwholden]

Jeff,

I could go both ways on that one.

I love the idea of saving the second trip and if it's a small job I'll just take the measurements on the fly. However, a lot of the stuff I do requires me to do a little brainstorming and I hate staring at their house with that puzzled look as they watch. Hence the return visit.

I do like the idea of sending them back in the house with the portfolio, that will guarantee they leave me alone.

Thanks,

John aka JW

[agla]

I have worked for one company that charge for an initial "consultation" and many that did not. Both types had good reasoning. I think that you have to determine which way will work best for you by having a very clear understanding of your market and where you fit in it.

The company that charged a "consultation" fee was very visible both in terms of location and work produced. At the time I was there, you could expect 15-20 calls inquiring about landscape work per spring day. Obviously, these can not all be responded to with meetings, quick plans, and written contracts without considerable cost.
We all know that there is an element out there that loves to talk pie in the sky and be waited on hand and foot while they go no where just to feel important.
Having a fee certainly separates the real tire kickers away very quickly while retriving some of the expense of writing up dead end proposals. If there was a straight forward job that did not require real design time, we would do a quick sketch to confirm what we were pricing, kept that ourselves, and wrote a proposal. When the job needed design work, we would write up a design contract. The clients signed and paid deposits for either of these, or they did not. They were a medium range landscape company with an occaissonal high end thrown in here and there. They got all the work that they could handle, managed things well, and made good money on the jobs that they got. I think it was extremely effective at that particular company.

More recently, I worked for a much more high end company that would not charge for consultation. The clients were consistantly much wealthier. The jobs were much more involved. The difference was that they were well known in the"right" circles and did not advertise much beyond yellow page listings. A fee for "consultation" is taken much more as disrespectful of someone who is about to drop a half mil into landscaping. Yes, we charged for design without crediting it toward construction. That is a whole other ball game (@#$%, I new I could not avoid the ball game thing!). The company was much more invisible to tire kickers. We would respond to them, but would shorten the subject matter, the time spent, and send a proposal for a portion of the job to save time, and never hear from them again as the pricing was less than competitive with many other scapers.

The third situation is that of a company that has to be competitive. In that case you need to write proposals to get work. In order to do that you have to hit as many prospects as you can to land as many jobs as you can. Recovering $50 on a consultation fee makes no sense if you cut yourself from needed potential clients. One good contract is going to cover several dead end sales calls.

Any of these can work, but they can work against you if you don't understand which is right for your situation. A good indicator of whether an initial consultation fee is workable is if you're at near full production and have too many tire kickers that are wasting your time. Both have to be present.

Free design services are a whole other subject. When I say design, I don't mean a quick plan to show ten or twelve plants. I mean a well drafted and well thought out design. How can you charge $45 per hour for a fairly unskilled laborer to dig holes and then sit down for six hours to design a landscape for $100. That makes no sense. Two hours to draft out a simple plan for $100 is alright. Design takes time spent with the client, with the site, and drafting takes time. I can't see too many well designed landscapes taking much less than twenty hours to get to a nice plan.

[Nebraska]

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent input folks! Your take on this subject gives a lot of information and perspectives to consider....

I'm still on high to have been able to charge for a "turf consultation"....even though it was only $50.. It's almost humorous!