17 Mar Why Gambino landscape Lighting does not participate in competitive Bidding
By Mike Gambino
Competitive bidding is not good for business and its not good for the consumer either. Besides the time spent doing an estimate for a job we may not get, there is an additional element that most homeowners are not aware of. The following helps explain this:
Competitive bids are just that! If I shave the labor or materials to get your job, is that the landscape lighting system you really want? There are hundreds of ways to lower the price of a landscape lighting system which often lower the quality and workmanship as well. The best design plans and specifications don’t protect you from poor trade practices.
This quote above sums up my feelings well. There are plenty of ways to cut corners to create a lower price. Competitive bidding rewards the lowest price and offers absolutely no advantage to good workmanship. This is what property owners need to be educated about. Owners are taught 1 distinction when they pick a contractor, and that’s price. In this article, I want to show you how to buy value.
Landscape Lighting designer installers don’t sell a commodity-we sell a service. Landscape lighting can never be priced on a per fixture basis. There are too many variables. It is up to us as specialized landscape lighting tradespersons to educate the homeowner about the “process of landscape lighting.” It is up to us to help homeowners understand the service we are providing. We are not just designing , building and managing a project; we are designing, building and managing a process. To be successful in landscape lighting, you must manage the process as well as manage the project. The homeowners we work with need to be aware of this.
In a home improvement project, homeowners are putting one of their biggest assets, their home, at risk. They will frequently spend thousands of dollars to have work done on this primary asset. When most projects start, varying degrees of work take place, where a parade of strangers comes into their yard to do a variety of projects homeowners don’t really understand. Landscape lighting can be invasive, messy, and will temporarily interrupt some routines the homeowners’ follow. Homeowners understandably can get very uneasy during this process. Most have never gone through a landscape lighting project, so they don’t know what to expect. A good landscape lighter helps homeowners understand the steps involved in this process, and guides them through the process. Helping homeowners deal effectively with this process is one of our biggest jobs.
Some personal characteristics of successful landscape lighting designers are:
- Honesty, integrity 3. The ability to empathize
- Good communication skills 4. Long-term relationship oriented
These are the attributes of good landscape lighting installation companies in order of importance:
- Quality construction 5. Ability to provide value engineering
- Clear builder specifications 6. Company responsiveness
- Good company organization 7. On-time performance
- Ability to supply quality products 8. Fair price
At the completion of successful projects, price is not the primary consideration. Good service is and price is only one of eight important considerations. Satisfied homeowners understand the value of the service they received. To get away from doing competitive bids, we need to show our potential customers the value they will receive from working with us. What do we do that makes us unique? Such as- The Owner operator with 26 years of experience is on the job all the time working with his team to achieve a common goal. Unlike other companies, all power cable is placed inside of protective electrical conduit before being buried below grade to protect it from future damage. Most use cheap ground stakes that the owner cannot see until they break causing an expensive repair, We DO NOT use cheap stakes and our stakes don’t break! All of our products are designed to last a lifetime when properly maintained. We offer maintenance service on every system we install. Just to name a few.
These are the things that create value in the homeowner’s mind.
Landscape Lighting is a relationship business, not a numbers game. If you communicate the value you provide, homeowners will pay for this value. Think about it. Why do people buy Mercedes Benz?
This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.Gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .
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