When you ask me to match a competitor’s price, you’re not being smart with your money. You’re scared. And when I drop my price to win your business, I’m not being competitive. I’m scared too.
We’re both afraid of the same thing—failure. And we’ve both decided to let price be the safety net that catches us before we have to actually think about what we’re doing.
Excuses do not change what is; therefore they are useless and distractions to be avoided intentionally.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: price is never really an objection. It’s a security blanket. It’s the thing buyers hide behind when they don’t know how to evaluate what they’re actually buying. It’s the thing sellers hide behind when they don’t believe their work is worth defending.
And every single time someone makes a buying or selling decision based primarily on price, fear just handled their project. Not strategy. Not wisdom. Not experience. Fear.
Let me show you what I mean.
The Real Conversation
I’ve been in this industry long enough to translate the real conversation happening underneath the words. When a property owner calls me and says, “I got a quote for $6,500 but yours is $12,000—can you match theirs?” here’s what I actually hear:
“I have no idea how to evaluate whether your work is better than theirs. I don’t understand what I’m buying. The only number I can compare is the dollar amount, so that’s what I’m going to make this decision on. Also, I’m terrified I’m going to get ripped off, so if I choose the cheapest option and it goes wrong, at least I can say I was trying to save money.”
And when a contractor immediately says, “Yeah, I can do it for $6,500,” here’s what they’re actually communicating:
“I don’t believe my work is worth $12,000 even though I quoted it. I’m afraid if I don’t win this bid, there won’t be another one. I’ll figure out how to make the numbers work later—maybe cut some corners, maybe rush it, maybe use cheaper equipment. But right now I just need this job because I’m scared.”
Both of these people think they’re making rational economic decisions. Neither of them is. They’re both just trying not to lose.
And that’s exactly how they’re both going to lose.
What Happens When “Be the Cheapest” Becomes Your Strategy
Let’s talk about what happens inside a business when the primary competitive strategy becomes “be the cheapest option.”
First, you stop believing in your own value. If your work was genuinely better—if you had superior equipment, more experienced operators, better safety protocols, more comprehensive insurance, whatever—you’d be able to articulate that. You’d be able to say, “Here’s why this costs what it costs, and here’s what you get for that investment.”
But when you can’t explain your value (or don’t believe you have any), price becomes your only lever. And the second you pull that lever, you’ve admitted something devastating: your work is interchangeable with anyone else’s. A guy with a rented skid steer and a prayer can do the same job you can.
Except he can’t. But you’ve just told the customer he can.
So you win the bid. Congratulations. Now you have to execute a $12,000 job for $6,500. What gets cut?
Maybe you use lighter equipment because the heavy-duty stuff costs more to operate. Great—now the job takes three times longer and your lighter machine breaks a few times causing slow downs and costly trips to the dealer because it’s not designed for this work.
Maybe you skip marking of trees the customer wants to keep/take. After all, that takes time, and time is money you don’t have in this bid.
Maybe you defer maintenance on your equipment because you can’t afford it. Then your mulcher breaks down mid-job and the customer is sitting there watching their timeline slip while you scramble to fix it.
Maybe you hire cheaper, less experienced operators. They’re faster, sure—but they’re also less precise. They take out trees that should’ve stayed. They leave sections unfinished. They create erosion problems that won’t show up until the first big rain.
And when the customer calls you back because something went wrong, you don’t have the margin to fix it properly. You’re already in the hole on this job. So you do the minimum to avoid a lawsuit and move on to the next race-to-the-bottom bid.
This is not a sustainable business model. This is a slow-motion bankruptcy with extra steps.
The Customer’s Side of the Disaster
Now let’s flip it around. You’re a property owner. You need some acres cleared or mulched for a home build or a commercial development or whatever. You do the responsible thing—you get three quotes.
Bid A comes in at $12,000. Detailed scope of work, portfolio of similar projects, comprehensive insurance, professional equipment, realistic timeline, clear and effective communication.
Bid B is $9,500. Seems solid, decent reviews, nothing spectacular but nothing concerning either.
Bid C is $6,500. New operator, rented equipment, vague scope, can start tomorrow.
You choose Bid C because you just saved $5,500. That’s a free vacation. That’s paying for the appliances in your new house. That’s responsible financial management.
Except it’s not. It’s gambling.
That $6,500 contractor is either incompetent, dishonest, or desperate. Maybe all three. There is no fourth option. The math doesn’t work any other way.
The Pattern of Failure
Let me walk you through how this actually plays out:
You hire the $6,500 guy. He shows up with lightweight rental equipment he barely knows how to operate. It’s underpowered for the job, so it bogs down constantly. What should take a day takes three.
While he’s struggling with equipment, he accidentally takes out three magnolias you specifically asked him to protect because he didn’t take the time to properly mark them and he was rushing to make up for lost time. Those trees were worth $15,000+ in property value and aesthetics. Gone.
He also doesn’t know about wetland buffer regulations. He clears 10 feet into a protected zone because “it’s your property, you can do what you want.” Three months later, you get a $15,000 fine for unauthorized wetland disturbance.
When your building inspector comes out, he fails you because the root systems weren’t properly cleared. You now need to hire a second contractor to remediate the work. That costs $13,500.
Let’s do the math:
Original “cheap” bid: $6,500
Lost tree value: $15,000
State fine: $15,000
Remediation work: $13,500
Total cost: $50,000
That $12,000 professional bid is looking pretty good right about now, isn’t it?
The Fear That Drives Both Sides
So if everyone knows this can happen—and everyone does, deep down—why does this pattern keep repeating?
Because both parties are using price as a shortcut to avoid the harder work of actually building or evaluating value. And shortcuts are tempting when you’re scared.
The contractor is scared they don’t have enough work in the pipeline. They’re scared their competitors are busier than they are. They’re scared that if they hold firm on pricing, they’ll lose the bid and prove to themselves that they’re not as good as they think they are.
The buyer is scared they don’t know enough to make an informed decision. They’re scared of being taken advantage of. They’re scared of looking stupid if they “overpay.”
Price becomes the excuse both parties use to avoid the vulnerability of actually trusting their own assessment of value.
What Competing on Value Actually Looks Like
If you’re a contractor and you want to stop competing on price, here’s what you actually need to do: become worth more.
I don’t mean charge more for the same service and hope customers don’t notice. I mean develop capabilities that genuinely justify premium pricing:
Own equipment that produces superior results
Hire operators with a decade of experience
Get the specialized insurance that actually protects your client’s property
Build systems that ensure trees they want to keep don’t get touched
Document everything so thoroughly that there’s never a question about what was agreed upon
And then—this is the hard part—you need to be able to articulate why these things matter.
When a customer says, “Why is your price higher?” you need to be able to say:
“When you call us, you get a response in hours, not days. We use aerial imagery and our TreeAI assessment model to give you an accurate quote without wasting your time. Within 24 hours you have a clear proposal with visualizations showing what your land will look like when we’re done.
We package our services around what you’re actually trying to accomplish: build-ready site prep, fire prevention perimeter, selective habitat management, whatever. You’re not buying ‘forestry mulching by the hour’—you’re buying an outcome.
Our systematic model prices jobs based on actual production rates for your specific property conditions. That means our quote reflects reality, not guesswork. No surprises, no change orders.
That’s what you’re paying for. Not just the physical work—the business model that makes this entire process predictable, transparent, and actually pleasant instead of the typical contractor nightmare.”
If you can say that and mean it, you’ll stop losing bids to the $6,500 guy.
What Evaluating on Value Actually Looks Like
If you’re a property owner trying to make a smart hiring decision, you need to ask better questions.
Stop asking: “What’s your price per acre?” Start asking: “What’s included in your scope and what’s not?”
Stop asking: “Can you match this quote?” Start asking: “Why is there a $5,500 difference between your bid and this other one?”
The Questions That Actually Matter
Here are the questions that reveal whether a contractor is worth hiring:
“What insurance do you carry, and does it cover this specific type of work?”
“What equipment will you use on my property and why?”
“Walk me through what happens if you accidentally damage something I wanted to keep.”
“How do you handle unexpected issues—like hitting rock, or discovering wetlands?”
“Can you show me photos from similar projects you’ve completed?”
And here’s the big one: “Why should I hire you instead of the cheaper option?”
If they immediately drop their price or badmouth the competitor: Red flag.
If they clearly articulate what differentiates their work and why it matters: Green flag.
The Conversation I Wish More People Would Have
Here’s what I’d love to see instead of the price-matching dance:
Customer: “I got three quotes. Yours is the highest. Tell me why.”
Contractor: “Happy to. Here’s exactly what’s in my bid and why each component costs what it does. Here’s what equipment I’m using and why it matters. Here’s what I’m accounting for that might not be in those other bids. Here’s what problems I’ve seen on similar properties and how I plan to avoid them.”
Customer: “The other quotes didn’t mention half of this stuff. Should I be concerned?”
Contractor: “I can’t speak to what they’re offering. But I can tell you the questions you should ask them to find out. And I can tell you that if someone’s bid is significantly lower than everyone else’s, you should understand exactly what’s different—because something is.”
Customer: “Okay. I’m going to think about it.”
Contractor: “Sounds good. One last thing: if you decide to go with someone else, I genuinely hope it works out great. But if it doesn’t, I’m still here. I’d rather be your first call than your second contractor, but I’ll help either way.”
No pressure. No price matching. No desperation. Just two parties having an honest conversation about value, risk, and expectations.
That’s what this industry needs more of.
Frequently Asked Questions
For Property Owners:
Q: How much should I expect to pay for land clearing in Florida?
First, let’s be clear about what you’re actually asking for. Forestry mulching runs
2,500−$3,000
per acre - that’s selective clearing where we mulch vegetation in place and leave you with a clean layer of organic material.
Land clearing - full-scope site work with excavation, hauling, grading - that’s
15−20k
for typical projects. That’s when you need everything gone, roots pulled, dirt moved, site prepped for construction.
If someone’s quoting you
800
per acre for “land clearing,” they’re either talking about brush hogging or they have no idea what the job requires.
Q: Why are the quotes I’m getting so different from each other?
Because they’re probably not even quoting the same service. One contractor is quoting forestry mulching. Another is quoting full land clearing. The third might be quoting brush hogging and calling it “clearing.”
Or they ARE quoting the same service, but one contractor is using professional equipment with experienced operators, while another is showing up with rental equipment.
Ask each contractor to break down exactly what’s included. The differences will become obvious.
Q: How do I know if a low bid is legitimate or a red flag?
Ask one question: “Why is your bid
4,000
lower than the other quotes I received?”
A legitimate lower bid can explain specifically what’s different: “You’ve only got light brush, not hardwoods, so I’m using a smaller machine.” Or “Your property has great access and flat terrain, so my production rate is higher.”
But if they can’t tell you exactly why their number is lower, or if they get defensive, or if they start badmouthing other contractors - run.
For Contractors:
Q: How do I stop losing bids to cheaper competitors?
Stop chasing their clients. The people who choose contractors based on who’s cheapest are not the clients you want. They’re unprofitable, they complain constantly, and they’ll dump you for someone
500
cheaper next time.
Build a business model that makes the price conversation irrelevant. Use technology to respond faster. Send detailed proposals with visualizations. Package your services around outcomes, not hourly rates.
Q: Should I ever match a competitor’s price?
Only if you can actually deliver the same scope at that price without cutting corners or destroying your margins.
If you quoted
15k
and they quoted
8k
, one of three things is true: (1) they’re quoting a different scope, (2) they don’t understand the job, or (3) they’re planning to cut corners.
Do the math. If you can’t deliver quality work at their number while maintaining
20%+
margins, say no.
Q: What profit margin should I target?
20−35%
gross margins minimum. That’s after direct costs but before overhead.
If you’re running below
20%
, you don’t have margin for problems, and problems always happen. Below
15%
and you’re just creating jobs for your employees while slowly going bankrupt.
For example, Tree Shop’s minimum acceptable profit is
30%
.
The Bottom Line
Price is a tool. Use it. But don’t hide behind it.
The contractors who are thriving aren’t the cheapest ones. They’re the ones who got comfortable with their value and stopped apologizing for it.
The property owners who are happy with their land clearing aren’t the ones who saved the most money. They’re the ones who hired professionals and treated their land like it mattered.
Choose courage. Choose value. Choose better.
This article is part of TreeShop’s commitment to elevating industry standards through honest conversation about business practices that actually work.
Originally published on TreeShop Substack